Mediated electrochemical oxidation process used as a hydrogen fuel generator

ABSTRACT

A mediated electrochemical oxidation process and apparatus are used to process biological and organic materials to provide hydrogen and oxygen for use as fuel in numerous types of equipment. Waste materials are introduced into an apparatus for contacting the waste with an electrolyte containing the oxidized form of one or more reversible redox couples, at least one of which is produced electrochemically by anodic oxidation at the anode of an electrochemical cell. The oxidized species of the redox couples oxidize the organic waste molecules and are themselves converted to their reduced form, whereupon they are reoxidized and the redox cycle continues until all oxidizable waste species have undergone the desired degree of oxidation. The entire process takes place at temperatures to avoid any possible formation of either dioxins or furans. The oxidation process may be enhanced by the addition of ultrasonic energy and/or ultraviolet radiation.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/375,430 filed Apr. 26, 2002 and PCT/US03/13051 filed Apr. 28, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a process and apparatus for the useof the mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process on biologicaland organic materials to provide input hydrogen and oxygen for use asfuel in numerous types of hydrogen fuel consumer equipment.

These materials may be destroyed by the MEO process and will yieldhydrogen to be used as a fuel. The MEO process may also yield oxygen asa fuel to feed equipment such as the fuel cell. The following items arelisted as fuel sources but not limited to only these items: allbiological materials, and all organic materials (excluding fluorinatedhydrocarbons) hence forth collectively to as waste. Typical categoriesof potential fuel sources are animal waste, food waste, organic waste(such as solvents, etc.) medical waste, landfill runoff, industrialwaste, etc. Reference to the materials being used by the MEO process inthis patent as waste does not imply that they are necessary waste in thecommon sense. From the MEO process point of view they are materials thatthe MEO process may destroy yielding hydrogen and oxygen as an input fora fuel cell or other tradition combustion systems.

Providing the hydrogen gas for input into a fuel cell is a significantengineering problem for the terrestrial fuel cell community. Manysources are being used such as natural gas (methane-CH₄), propane, oil,etc. The fuel is normally converted through a high temperature processsuch as fractional distillation to yield hydrogen gas in a ‘fuelprocessor’. Fuel processors are one of the major engineering problemswith the terrestrial since only approximately 40% of the fuel isconverted to hydrogen thus limiting the fuel cell efficiency. The othermajor problem for fuel cells is the initial cost of the hardware ascompared to existing electrical generators—at least two to one ininitial cost. The incorporation of the MEO process in this patentprovides hydrogen and oxygen fuel to the fuel cell at temperatures below100° C. and ambient atmospheric pressure. The oxygen for the fuel cellnormally is extracted from the air. In the case of this invention, thehydrogen is nearly pure containing very little other gases, thus theefficiency of the fuel cell approaches that of a space-based cell.Terrestrial fuel cells are generally limited to using air with a limitof 20% plus oxygen. This invention may produce oxygen to be added to theair to create ‘oxygen enriched’ air. The result is the terrestrial fuelcell can achieve efficiencies more like their space based sister.

The hydrogen generated by this invention may be used as a fuelsubstitute for other fuels such as natural gas, propane, oil, coal, etc.The hydrogen is provided to a burner for use in a combustion system as asource of thermal energy. The hydrogen burns much cleaner then thesefuels and in particular produces almost no carbon dioxide, carbonmonoxide or nitrogen gases. Hydrogen burners may be used in furnaces,boilers, water heaters, electrical generators, etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the major problems in commercializing the fuel cells technologyis generating the hydrogen fuel to run the fuel cell. Currently hightemperature processes are used to break down materials to create thehydrogen fuel. These thermal processes tend to complicate the systemdesign and reduce the overall fuel cell efficiency. Furthermore, thecost of the raw fuel (that is before reducing it to yield the hydrogen)is significant in determining the cost of the energy produced by thefuel cell.

Currently high temperature processes are used to break down material tocreate the hydrogen fuel. There are many potential fuel sources that arerich in hydrogen that available at very little cost and in some cases atno cost at all. These candidate fuels are considered to be waste. Notonly do they have low cost potential, they cost the owners considerablemoney to dispose of them. Typical categories of potential fuel sourcesare animal waste, food waste, organic waste such as solvents, medicalwaste, landfill runoff, industrial waste, etc. Food waste is used in thefollowing section to illustrate the impact on the community of thesevarious waste materials.

Food waste is a growing problem for today's technological society. Thefood waste generated by a large segment of our agricultural sector is anincreasing burden on these companies as well as the whole country ingeneral. The magnitude of this growing problem can be seen from theamount of food available for human consumption in 1995 was 356 billionpounds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that 27% or 96billion pounds were lost as food waste at retail, consumer and foodservice levels. In addition to this food waste, an equally large amountof food waste is generated in the food processing industry.

Considerable researches in the fields of public health, safety andenvironmental protection have raised the level of concern relative tothe impact of this waste on our society. This has lead to the definitionof this waste being expanded in its coverage of materials that must behandled in a controlled and accountable manner.

The cost of disposing of food waste in the U.S. is a multi-billiondollar per year industry. The capital cost of the equipment required isin the hundreds of millions of dollars. All businesses, industrialcompanies, and institutions that generate and handle this category ofwaste must provide safe, effective and inexpensive disposal of thewaste. In recent years there has been increasing concern over thedisposal of food waste. The number of materials that need to becontrolled has continued to increase. Furthermore, the handling,storing, and transporting of the waste has continued to increase incost. The liability for the consequences of the disposal of this wasteis a major concern for all concerned. The liability of the users doesnot end with the transfer of control of these materials to disposalcompanies for future problems they may cause.

The dominant methodologies used today generally can be categorized asthermal decomposition, long-term storage, or landfills methods.

The most frequently used thermal destruction techniques are variousforms of incineration. All of these techniques have the potential toproduce volatile organics that have serious health and environmentalconsequences.

In the case of long-term storage, this method is viewed as delaying thesolving of the problem and in fact actually increases the degree of theproblem in the future. The dumping in landfills has considerable riskfor the users of these materials. Many companies build ‘holding ponds’to store the food waste for an extended period of time but these pondsare a potential serious threat to the public health and safety. If theydevelop leaks or overflow, the waste can enter the ground water posing aserious environmental problem. ‘Holding ponds’ may become a breedingarea for organisms. The organisms produced in these ponds may result inserious health consequences. Therefore, the user community has animmediate need to develop and incorporate improved methods for thehandling of all types and form of food wastes.

The methodology of this patent provides for the immediate destruction ofthese waste materials as close to the source as possible thus avoidingthe risk of expanding the exposure time or area to these materials. Thedestruction technology in this patent converts these waste materialsinto benign natural components such as carbon dioxide, water, and smallamounts of inorganic salts. During the destruction of the materials theMEO process produces hydrogen and oxygen in a clean and efficientmanner. Thus, the MEO process is used to dispose of unwanted or unneededmaterials to produce hydrogen fuel for use in; a) a fuel cell to produceelectrical energy in an environmentally safe and economically efficientmanner; or b) in a combustion process to generate thermal energy forexample a water heater in an environmentally safe and economicallyefficient manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method and apparatus(s) for using themediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO process on biological andorganic materials to provide input hydrogen and oxygen for use as a fuelfor numerous types of equipment. The method and apparatus in this patenthas the flexibility to deal with all of the forms of the waste asidentified. The MEO process destroys and/or converts the waste (aspreviously defined) into hydrogen and oxygen for use in the fuel cell orother tradition combustion systems.

The mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process involves anelectrolyte containing one or more redox couples, wherein the oxidizedform of at least one redox couple is produced by anodic oxidation at theanode of an electrochemical cell. The oxidized forms of any other redoxcouples present are produced either by similar anodic oxidation orreaction with the oxidized form of other redox couples present capableof affecting the required redox reaction. The anodic oxidation in theelectrochemical cell is driven by an externally induced electricalpotential induced between the anode(s) and cathode(s) plates. Theoxidized species of the redox couples oxidize the food waste moleculesand are themselves converted to their reduced form, whereupon they arereoxidized by either of the aforementioned mechanisms and the redoxcycle continues until all oxidizable waste species, includingintermediate reaction products, have undergone the desired degree ofoxidation. The redox species ions are thus seen to “mediate” thetransfer of electrons from the waste molecules to the anode, (i.e.,oxidation of the waste).

A membrane in the electrochemical cell separates the anolyte andcatholyte, thereby preventing parasitic reduction of the oxidizingspecies at the cathode. The membrane is typically an ion-selectivecation exchange membrane (e.g., Nafion, etc.) or a microporous polymer,ceramic, or sintered glass membrane. The preferred MEO process uses themediator species described in Table I (simple anions redox couplemediators); the Type I isopolyanions (IPA) formed by Mo, W, V, Nb, andTa, and mixtures thereof; the Type I heteropolyanions (HPA) formed byincorporation into the aforementioned isopolyanions of any of theelements listed in Table II (heteroatoms) either singly or incombinations there of; any type heteropolyanion containing at least oneheteropolyatom (i.e. element) contained in both Table I and Table II; orcombinations of mediator species from any or all of these genericgroups.

Simple Anion Redox Couple Mediators

Table I shows the simple anion redox couple mediators used in thepreferred MEO process wherein “species” defines the specific ions foreach chemical element that have applicability to the MEO process aseither the reduced (e.g., Fe⁺³) or oxidizer (e.g., FeO₄ ⁻²) form of themediator characteristic element (e.g., Fe), and the “specific redoxcouple” defines the specific associations of the reduced and oxidizedforms of these species (e.g., Fe⁺³/FeO₄ ⁻²) that are claimed for the MEOprocess. Species soluble in the anolyte are shown in Table I in normalprint while those that are insoluble are shown in bold underlined print.The characteristics of the MEO Process claimed in this patent arespecified in the following paragraphs.

The anolyte in the MEO process contains one or more-redox-couples whichin their oxidized form consist of either single multivalent elementanions (e.g., Ag⁺², Ce⁺⁴, Co⁺³, Pb⁺⁴, etc.), insoluble oxides ofmultivalent elements (e.g., PbO₂, CeO₂, PrO₂, etc.), or simple oxoanions(also called oxyanions) of multivalent elements (e.g., FeO₄ ⁻², NiO₄ ⁻²,BiO₃ ⁻, etc.). The redox couples in their oxidized form are called themediator species. The non-oxygen multivalent element component of themediator is called the characteristic element of the mediator species.We have chosen to group the simple oxoanions with the simple anion redoxcouple mediators rather than with the complex (i.e., polyoxometallate(POM)) anion redox couple mediators discussed in the next section andrefer to them collectively as simple anion redox couple mediators.

In one embodiment of this process both the oxidized and reduced forms ofthe redox couple are soluble in the anolyte. The reduced form of thecouple is anodically oxidized to the oxidized form at the cell anode(s)whereupon it oxidizes molecules of waste either dissolved in or locatedon waste particle surfaces wetted by the anolyte, with the concomitantreduction of the oxidizing agent to its reduced form, whereupon the MEOprocess begins again with the reoxidation of this species at the cellanode(s). If other less powerful redox couples of this type (i.e.,reduced and oxidized forms soluble in anolyte) are present, they too mayundergo direct anodic oxidation or the anodically oxidized more powerfuloxidizing agent may oxidize them rather than a waste molecule. Theweaker redox couple(s) is selected such that their oxidation potentialis sufficient to affect the desired reaction with the waste molecules.The oxidized species of all the redox couples oxidize the food wastemolecules and are themselves converted to their reduced form, whereuponthey are reoxidized by either of the aforementioned mechanisms and theredox cycle continues until all oxidizable waste species, includingintermediate reaction products, have undergone the desired degree ofoxidation.

The preferred mode for the MEO process as described in the precedingsection is for the redox couple species to be soluble in the anolyte inboth the oxidized and reduced forms; however this is not the only modeof operation claimed herein. If the reduced form of the redox couple issoluble in the anolyte (e.g., Pb⁺²) but the oxidized form is not (e.g.,PbO₂), the following processes are operative. The insoluble oxidizingagent is produced either as a surface layer on the anode by anodicoxidation, or throughout the bulk of the anolyte by reacting with theoxidized form of other redox couples present capable of affecting therequired redox reaction, at least one of which is formed by anodicoxidation. The oxidizable waste is either soluble in the anolyte ordispersed therein at a fine particle size, (e.g., emulsion, colloid,etc.) thereby affecting intimate contact with the surface of theinsoluble oxidizing agent (e.g., PbO₂) particles. Upon reaction of thewaste with the oxidizing agent particles, the waste is oxidized and theinsoluble oxidizing agent molecules on the anolyte wetted surfaces ofthe oxidizing agent particles reacting with the waste are reduced totheir soluble form and are returned to the bulk anolyte, available forcontinuing the MEO process by being reoxidized.

In another variant of the MEO process, if the reduced form of the redoxcouple is insoluble in the anolyte (e.g., TiO₂) but the oxidized form issoluble (e.g., TiO₂ ⁺²), the following processes are operative. Thesoluble (i.e., oxidized) form of the redox couple is produced by thereaction of the insoluble (i.e., reduced form) redox couple molecules onthe anolyte wetted surfaces of the oxidizing agent particles with thesoluble oxidized form of other redox couples present capable ofaffecting the required redox reaction, at least one of which is formedby anodic oxidation and soluble in the anolyte in both the reduced andoxidized forms. The soluble oxidized species so formed are released intothe anolyte whereupon they oxidize waste molecules in the mannerpreviously described and are themselves converted to the insoluble formof the redox couple, thereupon returning to the starting point of theredox MEO cycle.

In this invention, when an alkaline anolyte is used, the CO₂ resultingfrom oxidation of the waste reacts with the anolyte to form alkali metalbicarbonates/carbonates. The bicarbonate/carbonate ions circulate withinthe anolyte where they are reversibly oxidized to percarbonate ionseither by anodic oxidation within the electrochemical cell oralternately by reacting with the oxidized form of a more powerful redoxcouple mediator, when present in the anolyte. The carbonate thusfunctions exactly as a simple anion redox couple mediator, therebyproducing an oxidizing species from the waste oxidation products that itis capable of destroying additional waste.

The electrolytes used in this claim are from a family of acids, alkali,and neutral salt aqueous solutions (e.g. sulfuric acid, potassiumhydroxide, sodium sulfate aqueous solutions, etc.).

A given redox couple or mixture of redox couples (i.e. mediator species)will be used with different electrolytes.

The electrolyte composition is selected based on demonstrated adequatesolubility of the compound containing at least one of the mediatorspecies present in the reduced form (e.g., sulfuric acid will be usedwith ferric sulfate, etc.).

The concentration of the mediator species containing compounds in theanolyte will range from 0.0005 molar (M) up to the saturation point.

The concentration of electrolyte in the anolyte will be governed by itseffect upon the solubility of the mediator species containing compoundsand by the conductivity of the anolyte solution desired in theelectrochemical cell for the given mediator species being used.

The temperature over which the electrochemical cell will be operatedwill range from approximately 0° C. too slightly below the boiling pointof the electrolytic solution. The most frequently used thermaltechniques, such as incineration, greatly exceed this temperature range.All of these techniques have the potential to produce volatile organicsthat have serious health and environmental consequences. Typical ofthese substances are dioxins and furans, which are controlled wastematerials. Dioxins and furans are formed in off gas streams of thermaltreatment units (incinerators) when the off gases are cooled through thetemperature range from 350° C. to approximately 250° C. The MEO processused in this patent does not create those conditions therefore does notproduce these toxins.

The MEO process is operated at atmospheric pressure.

The mediator species are differentiated on the basis of whether they arecapable of reacting with the electrolyte to produce free radicals (e.g.,O₂H (perhydroxyl), OH (hydroxyl), SO₄ (sulfate), NO₃ (nitrate), etc.).Such mediator species are classified herein as “super oxidizers” (SO)and typically exhibit oxidation potentials at least equal to that of theCe⁺³/Ce⁺⁴ redox couple (i.e., 1.7 volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH 1).

The electrical potential between the electrodes in the electrochemicalcell is based upon the oxidation potential of the most reactive redoxcouples present in the anolyte and serving as a mediator species, andthe ohmic losses within the cell. Within the current density range ofinterest the electrical potential will be approximately 2.5 to 3.0volts.

In the case of certain electrolyte compositions, a low-level AC voltageis impressed across the electrodes in the electrochemical cell. The ACvoltage is used to retard the formation of surface films on theelectrodes that would have a performance limiting effect.

Complex Anion Redox Couple Mediators

The preferred characteristic of the oxidizing species in the MEO processis that it be soluble in the aqueous anolyte in both the oxidized andreduced states. The majorities of metal oxides and oxoanion (oxyanion)salts are insoluble, or have poorly defined or limited solutionchemistry. The early transition elements, however, are capable ofspontaneously forming a class of discrete polymeric structures calledpolyoxometallate POMs, which are highly soluble in aqueous solutionsover a wide pH range. The polymerization of simple tetrahedral oxoanionsof interest herein involves an expansion of the metal, M, coordinationnumber to 6, and the edge and corner linkage of MO₆ octahedra. Chromiumis limited to a coordination number of 4, restricting the POMs based onCrO₄ tetrahedra to the dichromate ion [Cr₂O₇]⁻² which is included inTable I. Based upon their chemical composition POMs are divided into thetwo subclasses isopolyanions (IPAs) and heteropolyanions (HPAs), asshown by the following general formulas:Isopolyanions (IPAs)—[M_(m)O_(y)]^(p−)and,Heteropolyanions (HPAs)—[X_(x)M_(m)O_(y)]^(q−)(m>x)where the addenda atom, M, is usually Molybdenum (Mo) or Tungsten (W),and less frequently Vanadium (V), Niobium (Nb), or Tantalum (Ta), ormixtures of these elements in their highest (d⁰) oxidation state. Theelements that can function as addenda atoms in IPAs and HPAs appear tobe limited to those with both a favorable combination of ionic radiusand charge, and the ability to form dπ-pπ M-O bonds. However, theheteroatom, X, have no such limitations and can be any of the elementslisted in Table II.

There is a vast chemistry of POMs that involves the oxidation/reductionof the addenda atoms and those heteroatoms listed in Table II, whichexhibit multiple oxidation states. The partial reduction of the addenda,M, atoms in some POMs strictures (i.e., both IPAs and HPAs) producesintensely colored species, generically referred to as “heteropolyblues”. Based on structural differences, POMs can be divided into twogroups, Type I and Type II. Type I POMs consist of MO₆ octahedra eachhaving one terminal oxo oxygen atom while Type II have 2 terminal oxooxygen atoms. Type II POMs can only accommodate addenda atoms with d⁰electronic configurations, whereas Type I e.g., Keggin (XM₁₂O₄₀), Dawson(X₂M₁₈O₆₂), hexametalate (M₆O₁₉), decatungstate (W₁₀O₃₂), etc., canaccommodate addenda atoms with d⁰, d¹, and d² electronic configurations.Therefore, while Type I structures can easily undergo reversible redoxreactions, structural limitations preclude this ability in Type IIstructures. Oxidizing species applicable for the MEO process aretherefore Type I POMs (i.e., IPAs and HPAs) where the addenda, M, atomsare W, Mo, V, Nb, Ta, or combinations there of.

The high negative charges of polyanions often stabilize heteroatoms inunusually high oxidation states, thereby creating a second category ofMEO oxidizers in addition to the aforementioned Type I POMs. Any Type Ior Type II HPA containing any of the heteroatom elements, X, listed inTable II, that also are listed in Table I as simple anion redox couplemediators, can also function as an oxidizing species in the MEO process.

The anolyte contains one or more complex anion redox couples, eachconsisting of either the afore mentioned Type I POMs containing W, Mo,V, Nb, Ta or combinations there of as the addenda atoms, or HPAs havingas heteroatoms (X) any elements contained in both Tables I and II, andwhich are soluble in the electrolyte (e.g. sulfuric acid, etc.).

The electrolytes used in this claim are from a family of acids, alkali,and neutral salt aqueous solutions (e.g. sulfuric acid, potassiumhydroxide, sodium sulfate aqueous solutions, etc.).

To maximize the production of hydrogen gas at the cathode, or minimizethe production of any other elements or chemical compounds in thecatholyte, it is necessary that the reaction2H⁺+2e ⁻=H₂predominates all other reactions at the cathode. The reduction of manynitrogen and halogen containing anions is thermodynamically favored overthat of hydrogen thus the presence of these anions in the catholyte isto be avoided unless they are in their lowest oxidation state (i.e., −3and −1, respectively), thereby precluding their further reduction.

A given POM redox couple or mixture of POM redox couples (i.e., mediatorspecies) will be used with different electrolytes.

The electrolyte composition is selected based on demonstrating adequatesolubility of at least one of the compounds containing the POM mediatorspecies in the reduced form and being part of a redox couple ofsufficient oxidation potential to affect oxidation of the other mediatorspecies present.

The concentration of the POM mediator species containing compounds inthe anolyte will range from 0.0005M (molar) up to the saturation point.The concentration of electrolyte in the anolyte will be governed by itseffect upon the solubility of the POM mediator species containingcompounds and by the conductivity of the anolyte solution desired in theelectrochemical cell for the given POM mediator species being used toallow the desired cell current at the desired cell voltage.

The temperature over which the electrochemical cell will be operatedwill range from approximately 0° C. to just below the boiling point ofthe electrolytic solution.

The MEO process is operated at atmospheric pressure. The POM mediatorspecies are differentiated on the basis of whether they are capable ofreacting with the electrolyte to produce free radicals (e.g., O₂H, OH,SO₄, NO₃). Such mediator species are classified herein as “superoxidizers” (SO) and typically exhibit oxidation potentials at leastequal to that of the Ce⁺³/Ce⁺⁴ redox couple (i.e., 1.7 volts at 1 molar,25° C. and pH 1).

The MEO process is operated at atmospheric pressure.

The electrical potential between the anode(s) and cathode(s) in theelectrochemical cell is based on the oxidation potential of the mostreactive POM redox couple present in the anolyte and serving as amediator species, and the ohmic losses within the cell. Within thecurrent density range of interest the electrical potential will beapproximately 2.5 to 3.0 volts.

Mixed Simple and Complex Anion Redox Couple Mediators

The preferred MEO process for a combination of simple anion redox couplemediators (A) and complex anion redox couple mediators (B) may be mixedtogether to form the system anolyte. The characteristics of theresulting MEO process is similar to the previous discussions.

The use of multiple oxidizer species in the MEO process has thefollowing potential advantages:

-   -   a. The overall waste destruction rate will be increased if the        reaction kinetics of anodically oxidizing mediator “A”,        oxidizing mediator “B” and oxidized mediator “B” oxidizing the        waste is sufficiently rapid such that the combined speed of the        three step reaction train is faster than the two step reaction        trains of anodically oxidizing mediator “A” or “B”, and the        oxidized mediators “A” or “B” oxidizing the waste.    -   b. If the cost of mediator “B” is sufficiently less than that of        mediator “A”, the used of the above three step reaction train        will result in lowering the cost of waste destruction due to the        reduced cost associated with the smaller required inventory and        process losses of the more expensive mediator “A”. An example of        this is the use of silver (II)—peroxysulfate mediator system to        reduce the cost associated with a silver (I/II) only MEO process        and overcome the slow anodic oxidation kinetics of a        sulfate/peroxysulfate only MEO process.    -   c. The MEO process is “desensitized” to changes in the types of        molecular bonds present in the waste as the use of multiple        mediators, each selectively attacking different type of chemical        bonds, results in a highly “nonselective” oxidizing system.

Anolyte Additional Features

In one preferred embodiment of the MEO process in this invention, thereare one or more simple anion redox couple mediators in the anolyteaqueous solution. In another preferred embodiment of the MEO process,there are one or more complex anion (i.e., POMs) redox couple mediatorsin the anolyte aqueous solution. In another preferred embodiment of theMEO process, there are one or more simple anion redox couples and one ormore complex anion redox couples in the anolyte aqueous solution.

The MEO process of the present invention uses any oxidizer specieslisted in Table I that are found in situ in the waste to be destroyed;For example, when the waste also contains iron (Fe) compounds thatbecome a source of FeO₄ ⁻² ions under the MEO process conditions withinthe anolyte, the waste-anolyte mixture may be circulated through anelectrochemical cell, where the oxidized form of the reversible ironredox couple is formed either by anodic oxidation within theelectrochemical cell or alternately by reacting with the oxidized formof a more powerful redox couple, if present in the anolyte and thelatter being anodically oxidized in the electrochemical cell. The ironthus functions exactly as a simple anion redox couple species therebydestroying the organic waste component leaving only the disposal of theiron. Adding one or more of any of the anion redox couple mediatorsdescribed in this patent further enhances the MEO process describedabove.

In the MEO process of the invention, anion redox couple mediators in theanolyte part of an aqueous electrolyte solution uses an acid, neutral oralkaline solution depending on the temperature and solubility of thespecific mediator(s). The anion oxidizers used in the basic MEO processpreferably attack specific organic molecules. Hydroxyl free radicalspreferentially attack organic molecules containing aromatic rings andunsaturated carbon-carbon bonds. Oxidation products such as the highlyundesirable aromatic compounds chlorophenol or tetrachlorodibenzodioxin(dioxin) upon formation would thus be preferentially attacked byhydroxyl free radicals, preventing the accumulation of any meaningfulamounts of these compounds. Even free radicals with lower oxidationpotentials than the hydroxyl free radical preferentially attackcarbon-halogen bonds such as those in carbon tetrachloride andpolychlorobiphenyls (PCBs).

Some redox couples having an oxidation potential at least equal to thatof the Ce⁺³/Ce⁺⁴ redox couple (i.e., 1.7 volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH1), and sometimes requiring heating to above about 50° C. (i.e., butless then the boiling point of the electrolyte) can initiate a secondoxidation process wherein the mediator ions in their oxidized forminteract with the aqueous anolyte, creating secondary oxidizer freeradicals (e.g., O₂H, OH, SO₄, NO₃, etc.) or hydrogen peroxide. Suchmediator species in this invention are classified herein as “superoxidizers” (SO) to distinguish them from the “basic oxidizers” incapableof initiating this second oxidation process.

The oxidizer species addressed in this patent (i.e., characteristicelements having atomic number below 90) are described in Table I (simpleanions redox couple mediators): Type I IPAs formed by Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta,or mixtures there of as addenda atoms; Type I HPAs formed byincorporation into the aforementioned IPAs if any of the elements listedin Table II (heteroatoms) either singly or in combinations thereof; orany HPA containing at least one heteroatom type (i.e., element)contained in both Table I and Table II; or mediator species from any orall of these generic groups.

Each oxidizer anion element has normal valence states (NVS) (i.e.,reduced form of redox couple) and higher valence states (HVS) (i.e.,oxidized form of redox couple) created by stripping electrons off NVSspecies when they pass through an electrochemical cell. The MEO processof the present invention uses a broad spectrum of anion oxidizers; theseanion oxidizers used in the basic MEO process may be interchanged in thepreferred embodiment without changing the equipment.

In preferred embodiments of the MEO process, the basic MEO process ismodified by the introduction of additives as stabilizing compounds suchas tellurate or periodate ions which serve to overcome the shortlifetime of the oxidized form of some redox couples (e.g., Cu⁺³) in theanolyte via the formation of more stable complexes (e.g., [Cu(IO₆)₂]⁻⁷,[Cu(HTeO₆)₂]⁻⁷). The tellurate and periodate ions can also participatedirectly in the MEO process as they are the oxidized forms of simpleanion redox couple mediators (see Table I) and will participate in theoxidation of waste in the same manner as previously described for thisclass of oxidizing agents.

Alkaline Electrolytes

In one preferred embodiment, a cost reduction is achieved in the basicMEO process by using an alkaline electrolyte, such as but not limited toaqueous solutions of NaOH or KOH with mediator species wherein thereduced form of said mediator redox couple displays sufficientsolubility in said electrolyte to allow the desired oxidation of thewaste to proceed at a practical rate. The oxidation potential of redoxreactions producing hydrogen ions (i.e., both mediator species and wastemolecules reactions) are inversely proportional to the electrolyte pH,thus with the proper selection of a redox couple mediator, it ispossible, by increasing the electrolyte pH, to minimize the electricpotential required to affect the desired oxidation process, therebyreducing the electric power consumed per unit mass of waste destroyed.

The catholyte portion of the electrolyte should not contain nitrogen orhalogen anions since their reduction is thermodynamically favored overthat of hydrogen unless they are in their lowest oxidation state (i.e.,−3 and −1, respectively) which precludes their further.

When an alkaline anolyte (e.g., NaOH, KOH, etc.) is used, benefits arederived from the saponification (i.e., base promoted ester hydrolysis)of fatty acids to form water soluble alkali metal salts of the fattyacids (i.e., soaps) and glycerin, a process similar to the production ofsoap from animal fat by introducing it into a hot aqueous lye solution.

In this invention, when an alkaline anolyte is used, the CO₂ resultingfrom oxidation of the waste reacts with the anolyte to form alkali metalbicarbonates/carbonates. The bicarbonate/carbonate ions circulate withinthe anolyte where they are reversibly oxidized to percarbonate ionseither by anodic oxidation within the electrochemical cell oralternately by reacting with the oxidized form of a more powerful redoxcouple mediator, when present in the anolyte. The carbonate thusfunctions exactly as a simple anion redox couple mediator, therebyproducing an oxidizing species from the waste oxidation products that itis capable of destroying additional waste.

Additional MEO Electrolyte Features

In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the catholyte and anolyteare discrete entities separated by a membrane, thus they are notconstrained to share any common properties such as electrolyteconcentration, composition, or pH (i.e., acid, alkali, or neutral). Theprocess operates over the temperature range from approximately 0° C. tooslightly below the boiling point of the electrolyte used during thedestruction of the waste.

MEO Process Augmented by Ultraviolet/Ultrasonic Energy

Decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide into free hydroxyl radicals iswell known to be promoted by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Thedestruction rate of waste obtained using the MEO process in thisinvention, therefore, is increased by UV irradiation of the reactionchamber anolyte to promote formation of additional hydroxyl freeradicals. In a preferred embodiment, UV radiation is introduced into theanolyte chamber using a UV source either internal to or adjacent to theanolyte chamber. The UV irradiation decomposes hydrogen peroxide, whichis produced by secondary oxidizers generated by the oxidized form of themediator redox couple, into hydroxyl free radical. The result is anincrease in the efficiency of the MEO process since the energy expendedin hydrogen peroxide generation is recovered through the oxidation offood materials in the anolyte chamber.

Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, ultrasonic energy may beapplied into the anolyte chamber to rupture the cell membranes ofbiological materials. The ultrasonic energy is absorbed in the cell walland the local temperature is raised to above several thousand degrees,resulting in cell wall failure. This substantially increases theeffectiveness of oxidation by the oxidized form of redox couple speciespresent as well as the overall efficiency of the MEO process.

Additionally, ultrasonic energy is introduced into the anolyte chamber.Implosion of the microscopic bubbles formed by the rapidly oscillatingpressure waves emanating from the sonic horn generate shock wavescapable of producing extremely short lived and localized conditions of4800° C. and 1000 atmospheres pressure within the anolyte. Under theseconditions water molecules decompose into hydrogen atoms and hydroxylradicals. Upon quenching of the localized thermal spike, the hydroxylradicals will undergo the aforementioned reactions with the waste orcombine with each other to form another hydrogen peroxide molecule whichthen itself oxidizes additional waste.

In another preferred embodiment, the destruction rate of non anolytesoluble waste is enhanced by affecting a reduction in the dimensions ofthe individual second (i.e., waste) phase entities present in theanolyte, thereby increasing the total waste surface area wetted by theanolyte and therefore the amount of waste oxidized per unit time.Immiscible liquids may be dispersed on an extremely fine scale withinthe aqueous anolyte by the introduction of suitable surfactants oremulsifying agents. Vigorous mechanical mixing such as with a colloidmill or the microscopic scale mixing affected by the aforementionedultrasonic energy induced microscopic bubble implosion could also beused to affect the desired reduction in size of the individual secondphase waste volumes dispersed in the anolyte. The vast majority of solidwaste may be converted into a liquid phase, thus becoming treatable asabove, using a variety of cell disruption methodologies. Examples ofthese methods are mechanical shearing using various rotor-statorhomogenizers and ultrasonic devices (i.e., sonicators) where theaforementioned implosion generated shock wave, augmented by the 4800° C.temperature spike, shear the cell walls. Distributing the cellprotoplasm throughout the anolyte produces an immediate reduction in themass and volume of actual wastes as about 67 percent of protoplasm isordinary water, which simply becomes part of the aqueous anolyte,requiring no further treatment. If the amount of water released directlyfrom the waste and/or formed as a reaction product from the oxidation ofhydrogenous waste dilutes the anolyte to an unacceptable level, theanolyte can easily be reconstituted by simply raising the temperatureand/or lowering the pressure in an optional evaporation chamber toaffect removal of the required amount of water. The soluble constituentsof the waste are rapidly dispersed throughout the anolyte on a molecularscale while the insoluble constituents are dispersed throughout theanolyte as an extremely fine second phase using any of theaforementioned dispersal methodologies, thereby vastly increasing thewaste anolyte interfacial contact area beyond that possible with anintact solid configuration and thus increasing the rate at which thewaste is destroyed and the MEO efficiency.

In another preferred embodiment, increasing the surface area exposed tothe anolyte enhances the destruction rate of non-anolyte solid organicwaste. The destruction rate for any given concentration of oxidizer insolution in the anolyte is limited to the area of the solid with whichthe oxidizer can make contact. The embodiment used for solids willcontain a mechanism for multiply puncturing the solid when it is placedin the anolyte reaction chamber basket. The punctures allow the oxidizerto penetrate into the interior of the solid by-passing difficult todestroy surface layers (e.g., skin, membranes. etc.) and increase therate of destruction.

MEO Process Augmented with Free Radicals

The principals of the oxidation process used in this invention in whicha free radical (e.g., O₂H, OH, SO₄, NO₃,) cleaves and oxidize organiccompounds resulting in the formation of successively smaller hydrocarboncompounds. The intermediate compounds so formed are easily oxidized tocarbon dioxide and water during sequential reactions.

Inorganic radicals are generated in aqueous solutions variants of theMEO process in this invention. Inorganic free radicals have been derivedfrom carbonate, azide, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, phosphite, sulphite,sulphate, selenite, thiocyanate, chloride, bromide, iodide and formateions. Organic free radicals, such as sulfhydryl, may be generated by theMEO process. When the MEO process in this invention is applied toorganic materials they are broken down into intermediate organiccompounds that are attacked by the aforementioned inorganic freeradicals, producing organic free radicals, which contribute to theoxidation process and increase the efficiency of the MEO process.

SUMMARY

These and further and other objects and features of the invention areapparent in the disclosure, which includes the above and ongoing writtenspecification, with the characteristics and drawings.

These and further and other objects and features of the invention areapparent in the disclosure, which includes the above and ongoing writtenspecification, with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A MEO Apparatus Diagram is a schematic representation of a systemfor destroying waste materials and evolving hydrogen and oxygen as aby-product. These gases are feed to fuel cells and other hydrogen fuelconsumer equipment. FIG. 1A is a representation of a general embodimentof the present invention (with the understanding that not all of thecomponents shown therein must necessarily be employed in all situationsand others may be added as needed for a particular application).

FIG. 1B Anolyte Reaction Chamber for Liquids, Mixtures, and SmallParticulate and with Continuous Feed is a schematic representation ofthe anolyte reaction chamber used for waste fluids, and mixtures, whichinclude small particulate. This chamber accommodates a continuous feedof these materials into the chamber.

FIG. 1C Anolyte Reaction Chamber for Solids, Mixtures, and LargerParticulate and with Batch Operation is a schematic representation ofthe anolyte reaction chamber used for waste solids, and mixtures thatinclude large particulate. This chamber will be used for batch modeprocessing of wastes.

FIG. 1D Anolyte Reaction Chamber Remote is a schematic representation ofthe anolyte reaction chamber used for separating the anolyte reactionchamber from the basic MEO apparatus. This configuration allows thechamber to be a part of production line or similar use.

FIG. 1E Anolyte Reaction Chamber Exterior is a schematic representationof a container serving the role of the anolyte reaction chamber that isnot a part of the MEO apparatus. Typical of such a container is a50-gallon drum.

FIG. 2 MEO Controller is a schematic representation of the MEOelectrical and electronic systems. FIG. 2 is a representation of ageneral embodiment of a controller for the present invention shown inFIG. 3 (with the understanding that not all of the components showntherein must necessarily be employed in all situations and others may beadded as needed for a particular application).

FIG. 3 MEO System Model 5.b is a schematic representation of a preferredembodiment using anolyte reaction chamber 5 b in the system shown inFIG. 1A. System Model 5.b is connected to a fuel cell to illustrate atypical use for this patent.

FIG. 4 MEO System Model 5.b Operational Steps is a schematicrepresentation of the generalized steps of the process used in the MEOapparatus coupled to a fuel cell shown in FIG. 3 (with the understandingthat not all of the components shown therein must necessarily beemployed in all situations and others may be added as needed for aparticular application).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS MEO Chemistry

Mediated Electrochemical Oxidation (MEO) process chemistry described inthis patent uses oxidizer species (i.e., characteristic elements havingatomic number below 90) as described in Table I (simple anions redoxcouple mediators); Type I IPAs formed by Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, or mixturesthere of as addenda atoms; Type I HPAs formed by incorporation into theaforementioned IPAs of any of the elements listed in Table II(heteroatoms) either singly or in combination thereof; or any HPAcontaining at least one heteroatom type (i.e., element) contained inboth Table I and Table II; or combinations of mediator species from anyor all of these generic groups. Since the anolyte and catholyte arecompletely separated entities, it is not necessary for both systems tocontain the same electrolyte. Each electrolyte (anolyte and catholyte)may, independent of the other, consist of an aqueous solution of acids,typically but not limited to sulfuric, of phosphoric; alkali, typicallybut not limited to sodium or potassium hydroxide; or neutral salttypically but not limited to sodium or potassium salts of theaforementioned strong mineral acids.

The catholyte should not contain nitrogen and halogen anions. Thereduction of these anions is thermodynamically favored over that ofhydrogen and would interfere with effort to maximize the production ofhydrogen gas at the cathode.

The MEO Apparatus is unique in that it accommodates the numerous choicesof mediator ions and electrolytes by simply draining, flushing, andrefilling the system with the mediator/electrolyte system of choice.

Because of redundancy and similarity in the description of the variousmediator ions, only the iron and sulfuric acid combination is discussedin detail. However, it is to be understood that the following discussionof the ferric/ferrate, (Fe⁺³)/(FeO₄ ⁻²) redox couple reaction insulfuric acid (HSO₄) also applies to all the aforementioned oxidizerspecies and electrolytes described at the beginning of this section.Furthermore, the following discussions of the interaction of ferrateions with aqueous electrolytes to produce the aforementioned freeradicals also applies to all aforementioned mediators having anoxidation potential sufficient to be classified superoxidizers (SO). AnSO has an oxidation potential at least equal to that of the redox coupleCe⁺³/Ce⁺⁴ which has a potential of approximately 1.7 volts at 1 molar,25° C. and pH 1 in an acid electrolyte.

FIG. 1A shows a MEO Apparatus in a schematic representation fordestroying waste. At the anode of the electrochemical cell 25 Fe(III)ions (Fe⁺³, ferric) are oxidized to Fe(VI) ions (FeO₄ ², ferrate),Fe⁺³+4H₂O→FeO₄ ⁻²+8H⁺+3e ⁻If the anolyte temperature is sufficiently high, typically above 50° C.,the Fe(VI) species may undergo a redox reaction with the water in theaqueous anolyte. The oxidation of water proceeds by a sequence ofreactions producing a variety of intermediate reaction products, some ofwhich react with each other. A few of these intermediate reactionproducts are highly reactive free radicals including, but not limited tothe hydroxyl (.H) and hydrogen peroxy or perhydroxyl (.HO₂) radicals.Additionally, the mediated oxidizer species ions may interact withanions present in the acid or neutral salt electrolyte (e.g., SO₄ ⁻², orPO₄ ⁻³, etc.) to produce free radicals typified by, but not limited to.SO₄, or the anions may undergo direct oxidation at the anode of thecell. The population of hydroxyl free radicals may be increased byultraviolet irradiation of the anolyte (see ultraviolet source 11) inthe reaction chambers 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 to cleave the hydrogenperoxide molecules, and intermediate reaction products, into two suchradicals. Free radical populations is increased by ultrasonic vibration(see ultrasonic source 9) induced by the aforementioned implosiongenerated shock wave, augmented by the 4800° C. temperature spike and1000 atmospheres pressure.

These secondary oxidation species are capable of oxidizing waste(biological and organic materials) and thus act in consort with Fe(VI)ions to oxidize the waste materials.

The oxidizers react with the waste to produce CO₂ and water. Theseprocesses occur in the anolyte on the anode side of the system in thereaction chambers 5(a,b,c,d), buffer tank 20, and throughout the anolytesystem when in solution.

Addition of ferric ions to non-iron-based MEO systems has the potentialfor increasing the overall rate of waste oxidation compared to thenon-iron MEO system alone. (Again it is to be understood this discussionof the ferric/ferrate redox couple also applies to all theaforementioned oxidizer species described at the beginning of thissection.) For example consider a two step process the first of which isto electrochemically form a FeO₄ ⁻² ion. In the second step is the FeO₄⁻² ion oxidizes a mediator ion, from its reduced form (e.g., sulfate) toits oxidized form (e.g., peroxysulfate), faster than by the directanodic oxidation of the sulfate ion itself. Thus there is an overallincrease in the rate of waste destruction.

Membrane 27 separates the anode and the cathode chambers in theelectrochemical cell 25. Hydrogen ions (H⁺) or hydronium ions (H₃O⁺)travel through the membrane 27 due to the electrical potential from thedc power supply 29 applied between the anode(s) 26 and cathodes(s) 28.In the catholyte the hydrogen ions are reduced to hydrogen gas2H⁺+2e ⁻=H₂

The hydrogen ions (H⁺) or hydronium ions (H₃O⁺) will evolve as hydrogengas at the cathode. The evolved hydrogen gas can be feed to devices thatuse hydrogen as a fuel such as the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuelcell or other traditional hydrogen fuel consumer equipment.

In some cases oxygen is evolved at the anode due to the over voltagenecessary to create the oxidation species of some of the mediator ions.The efficiency of these mediators is somewhat less under thoseconditions. The evolved oxygen can be feed to the devices that usehydrogen as a fuel such as the fuel cells. The efficiency of fuel cellsderiving their oxygen supply from ambient air is increased by using theevolved oxygen to enrich the air above its nominal oxygen content of20.9 percent.

The overall process results in the waste being converted to carbondioxide, water, and a small amount of inorganic salts in solution or asa precipitate, which will be extracted by the inorganic compound removaland treatment system 15.

The MEO process may proceed until complete destruction of the waste hasbeen affected or modified to stop the process at a point where thedestruction of the waste is incomplete but: a) the organic materials arebenign and do not need further treatment, or b) the organic materialsmay be used in the form they have been reduced to and thus would berecovered for that purpose.

The entireties of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,686,019; 4,749,519; 4,874,485;4,925,643; 5,364,508; 5,516,972; 5,745,835; 5,756,874; 5,810,995;5,855,763; 5,911,868; 5,919,350; 5,952,542; and 6,096,283 are includedherein by reference for their relevant teachings.

MEO Apparatus

A schematic drawing of the MEO apparatus shown in FIG. 1A MEO ApparatusDiagram illustrates the application of the MEO process to thedestruction of waste. The bulk of the anolyte resides in the anolytereaction chambers 5(a,b,c) and the buffer tank 20. The anolyte portionof the electrolyte solution contains for example Fe⁺³/FeO₄ ⁻² redoxcouple anions and secondary oxidizing species (e.g., free radicals,H₂O₂, etc.).

The MEO apparatus FIG. 1A is composed of two separate closed-loopsystems containing an electrolyte solution composed of anolyte andcatholyte solutions. The anolyte and catholyte solutions are containedin the anolyte (A) system and the catholyte (B) system, respectively.The hydrogen and oxygen gases evolve from the cathode and anoderespectively. The gases are feed to the fuel cell or other hydrogen fuelconsumer equipment. These two systems are discussed in detail in thefollowing paragraphs.

Anolyte System (A)

The waste is introduced into the anolyte reaction chamber where it isoxidized. The oxidation process produces the hydrogen or hydronium ionswhich pass through the membrane into the catholyte reaction chamber. Theions will be evolved into hydrogen gas for output to the fuel cell orother hydrogen fuel consuming equipment. Referring to FIG. 1A, the wastemay be a liquid, solid, a mixture of solids and liquids, or combinedwaste. FIGS. 1B through 1E provide preferred embodiments of the anolytereaction chambers 5(a), 5(b), 5(c), 5(d), and buffer tank 20.

The anolyte reaction chamber 5(a) in FIG. 1B is designed for liquids,small particulate and continuous feed operations. The waste isintroduced into the anolyte reaction chamber 5(a) through the input pump10 connected to the source of the waste to be destroyed. The waste ispumped into the chamber 5(a), which contains the anolyte used to destroythat waste. The apparatus continuously circulates the anolyte portion ofthe electrolyte directly from the electrochemical cell 25 through thereaction chamber 5(a) to maximize the concentration of oxidizing speciescontacting the waste. The anolyte is introduced into the anolytereaction chamber 5(a) through the spray head 4(a) and stream head 4(b).The two heads are designed to increase the exposure of the waste to theanolyte by enhancing the mixing in the anolyte reaction chamber 5(a).Introducing the anolyte into the reaction chamber 5(a) as a spray ontothe anolyte surface promotes contact with (i.e., oxidation of) anyimmiscible organic surface layers present. A filter 6 is located at thebase of the reaction chamber 5(a) to limit the size of the solidparticles to approximately 1 mm in diameter (i.e., smaller that theminimum dimension of the anolyte flow path in the electrochemical cell25) thereby preventing solid particles large enough to clog theelectrochemical cell 25 flow paths from exiting the reaction chamber5(a). Contact of the oxidizing species with incomplete oxidationproducts that are gaseous at the conditions within the reaction chamber5(a) may be further enhanced by using conventional techniques forpromoting gas/liquid contact (e.g., ultrasonic vibration 9, mechanicalmixing 7). An ultraviolet source 11 is introduced into the anolytereaction chamber 5(a) to decompose the hydrogen peroxide formed by theMEO process into free hydroxyl radicals.

The anolyte reaction chamber 5(b) in FIG. 1C is designed for solids,mixtures and batch operations. The hinged lid 1 is lifted, and the topof the basket 3 is opened. The solid waste is introduced into the basket3 in the reaction chamber 5(b) where the solid waste remains while theliquid portion of the waste flows into the anolyte. The basket 3 top isclosed and the basket 3 is lowered by a lever 36 connected to the lid 1into the anolyte such that all its contents are held submerged in theanolyte throughout the oxidization process. Lid 1 has a seal around theopening and it is locked before operation begins.

A mechanical device (penetrator 34) is incorporated into the basket 3that create multiple perforations in the outer layers of the solid wasteso that the anolyte can penetrate into the waste. This penetrationspeeds up the oxidation of the solid waste by increasing the surfacearea exposed to the anolyte oxidizer, and allowing said oxidizerimmediate access to portions of the aforementioned waste that areencased in (i.e., protected by) more difficult to oxidize surroundingouter layers (e.g., hide, etc.).

The apparatus continuously circulates the anolyte portion of theelectrolyte directly from the electrochemical cell 25 through thereaction chamber 5(b) to maximize the concentration of oxidizing speciescontacting the waste. The anolyte enter the reaction chamber 5(b) and isinjected through two nozzles; one a spray head to distribute the anolytethroughout the reaction chamber 5(b), and the second is a stream head topromote circulation and turbulence in the anolyte in the chamber. Anin-line screen filter 6 prevents solid particles large enough to clogthe electrochemical cell 25 flow paths from exiting the reaction chamber5. Introducing the anolyte into the reaction chamber 5(b) as a sprayonto the anolyte surface promotes contact with (i.e., oxidation of) anyimmiscible organic surface layers present. A filter 6 is located at thebase of the reaction chamber 5(b) to limit the size of the solidparticles to approximately 1 mm in diameter (i.e., smaller that theminimum dimension of the anolyte flow path in the electrochemical cell25) thereby preventing solid particles large enough to clog theelectrochemical cell 25 flow paths from exiting the reaction chamber5(b). Contact of the oxidizing species with incomplete oxidationproducts that are gaseous at the conditions within the reaction chamber5(b) may be further enhanced by using conventional techniques forpromoting gas/liquid contact (e.g., ultrasonic vibration 9, mechanicalmixing 7). An ultraviolet source 11 is introduced into the anolytereaction chamber 5(b) to decompose the hydrogen peroxide formed by theMEO process into free hydroxyl radicals.

The anolyte reaction chamber 5(c) in FIG. 1D is designed to use ananolyte reaction chamber that is exterior to the basic MEO apparatus.The chamber may be integrated into a production process to be used todestroy waste as a part of the process. The chamber may be connected tothe basic MEO apparatus through tubing and a pumping system. The anolyteis pumped from the buffer tank 20 in the basic MEO apparatus by the pump8 where it is introduced into the reaction chamber 5(b) through sprayhead 4 a as a spray onto the anolyte surface thereby promoting contactwith (i.e., oxidation of) any immiscible organic surface layers presentin addition to reacting with (i.e., oxidizing) the waste dissolved,suspended or submerged within the anolyte in the reaction chamber 5 (c).The inlet to pump 8 is protected by an in-line screen filter 6 whichprevents solid particles large enough to clog the spray head 4(a) fromexiting the buffer tank 20. Contact of the oxidizing species withincomplete oxidation products that are gaseous at the conditions withinthe reaction chamber 5(c) may be further enhanced by using conventionaltechniques for promoting gas/liquid contact (e.g., ultrasonic vibration9, mechanical mixing 7). An ultraviolet source 11 is introduced into theanolyte reaction chamber 5(c) to decompose the hydrogen peroxide formedby the MEO process into free hydroxyl radicals. The input pump 10 pumpsthe anolyte and waste liquid in the anolyte reaction chamber back to thebuffer tank in the basic MEO apparatus through a return tube protectedby an in-line screen filter 6 which prevents solid particles largeenough to clog the spray head 4(a) from exiting the reaction chamber5(c). A third tube is connected to the reaction chamber 5(c) to pump outany gas that is present from the original contents or from the MEOprocess. The gas is pumped by the air pump 32. The return gas tube issubmerged in the buffer tank 20 in the basic MEO system so as to oxidizeany volatile organic compounds in the gas to CO₂ before release to thegas cleaning system 16. Contact of the oxidizing species with incompleteoxidation products that are gaseous at the conditions within thereaction chamber 5(c) may be further enhanced by using conventionaltechniques for promoting gas/liquid contact (e.g., ultrasonic vibration9, mechanical mixing 7). The apparatus continuously circulates theanolyte portion of the electrolyte directly from the electrochemicalcell 25 through the buffer tank 20 to maximize the concentration ofoxidizing species contacting the waste.

The hinged lid 1 is lifted, and the top of the basket 3 is opened. Theorganic waste is introduced into the basket 3 in the reaction chamber5(c) where the solid waste remains while the liquid portion of the wasteflows into the anolyte. The basket 3 top and the lid 1 are closed andlid 1 has a seal around the opening and it is locked before operationbegins. With basket 3 lid closed, the basket 3 is lowered by a lever 36connected to the lid 1 into the anolyte such that all of its contentsare held submerged in the anolyte throughout the oxidization process.

A mechanical device (penetrator 34) may be incorporated into the basket3 in the anolyte reaction chamber 5(c) that create multiple perforationsin the outer portion of the solid waste so that the anolyte can rapidlypenetrate into the interior of the waste. The penetrator 34 serves thesame purpose it does in the anolyte reaction chamber 5(b) described inthe foregoing section. A filter 6 is located at the base of the buffertank 20 to limit the size of the solid particles to approximately 1 mmin diameter (i.e., smaller that the minimum dimension of the anolyteflow path in the electrochemical cell 25) thereby preventing solidparticles large enough to clog the electrochemical cell 25 flow pathsfrom exiting the buffer tank (20).

The anolyte reaction chamber 5(d) in FIG. 1E is designed to use a closedcontainer exterior to the basic apparatus as the anolyte reactionchamber. FIG. 1E illustrates one example of an exterior container, whichin this case is a metal vessel such as a 50-gallon steel drum containingwaste. The drum may be connected to the basic MEO apparatus throughtubing and a pumping system. The anolyte is pumped by the pump 8 fromthe buffer tank 20 in the basic MEO apparatus into the reaction chamber5(d) where it reacts with the contents and oxidizes the waste. Theanolyte stream is oscillated within the anolyte reaction chamber 5(d) toallow for thorough mixing and for cleaning of the walls of the chamber.The input pump 10 pumps the anolyte and waste liquid in the anolytereaction chamber back to the buffer tank in the basic MEO apparatusthrough a return tube protected by an in-line screen filter 6 whichprevents solid particles large enough to clog the spray head 4(a) fromexiting the reaction chamber 5(d). A third tube is connected to thereaction chamber 5(d) through the air pump 32 to pump out any gas thatis present from the original contents or from the MEO process. Thereturn gas tube is submerged below the anolyte level in the buffer tank20 in the basic MEO system so as to oxidize any volatile organiccompounds in the gas to CO₂ before release to the gas cleaning system16.

The anolyte from the electrochemical cell 25 is introduced into thebuffer tank 20 through the spray head 4(a) and stream head 4(b). The twoheads are designed to increase the exposure of the waste to the anolyteby enhancing the mixing in the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a,b).Introducing the anolyte into the buffer tank 20 as a spray onto theanolyte surface promotes contact with (i.e., oxidation of) anyimmiscible organic surface layers present.

The MEO apparatus continuously circulates the anolyte portion of theelectrolyte directly from the electrochemical cell 25 into the buffertank 20 to maximize the concentration of oxidizing species contactingthe waste. A filter 6 is located at the base of the buffer tank 20 tolimit the size of the solid particles to approximately 1 mm in diameter(i.e., smaller than the minimum dimension of the anolyte flow path inthe electrochemical cell 25). Contact of the oxidizing species withincomplete oxidation products that are gaseous at the conditions withinthe buffer tank 20 may be enhanced by using conventional techniques forpromoting gas/liquid contact (e.g., ultrasonic vibration 9, mechanicalmixing 7). An ultraviolet source 11 is introduced into the buffer tank20 to decompose the hydrogen peroxide formed by the MEO process intofree hydroxyl radicals.

All surfaces of the apparatus in contact with the anolyte or catholyteare composed of stainless steel, glass, or nonreactive polymers (e.g.,PTFE, PTFE lined tubing, etc). These materials provide an electrolytecontainment boundary to protect the components of the MEO apparatus frombeing oxidized by the electrolyte.

The anolyte circulation system contains a pump 19 and a removal andtreatment system 15 (e.g., filter, centrifuge, hydrocyclone, etc,) toremove any insoluble inorganic compounds that form as a result ofmediator or electrolyte ions reacting with anions of or containinghalogens, sulfur, phosphorous, nitrogen, etc. that may be present in thewaste stream thus preventing formation of unstable compounds (e.g.,perchlorates, etc.). The anolyte is then returned to the electrochemicalcell 25, where the oxidizing species are regenerated, which completesthe circulation in the anolyte system (A).

The residue of the inorganic compounds is flushed out of the treatmentsystem 15 during periodic maintenance if necessary. If warranted, theinsoluble inorganic compounds are converted to water-soluble compoundsusing any one of several chemical or electrochemical processes.

Waste is added to the reaction chambers 5(a,b,c) either continuously orin the batch mode depending on the anolyte reaction chamberconfiguration chosen.

The MEO system apparatus incorporates two methods that may control therate of destruction of waste and control the order in which organicmolecular bonds are broken. In the first method the anolyte temperatureis initially at or below the operating temperature and subsequentlyincreased by the thermal controls 21 and 22 until the desired operatingtemperature for the specific waste stream is obtained. In the secondmethod the waste is introduced into the apparatus, with theconcentration of electrochemically generated oxidizing species in theanolyte being limited to some predetermined value between zero and themaximum desired operating concentration for the waste stream bycontrolling the electric current in the electrochemical cell 25 with theDC power supply 29 and subsequently increased to the desired operatingconcentration. These two methods can be used in combination.

The electrolyte is composed of an aqueous solution of mediator speciesand electrolytes appropriate for the species selected and is operatedwithin the temperature range from approximately 0° C. to slightly belowthe boiling point of the electrolytic solution, usually less then 100°C., at a temperature or temperature profile most conducive to thedesired waste destruction rate (e.g., most rapid, most economical,etc.). The acid, alkaline, or neutral salt electrolyte used isdetermined by the conditions in which the species may exist.

Considerable attention has been paid to halogens, especially chlorineand their deleterious interactions with silver mediator ions, howeverthis is of much less concern or importance to this invention for thefollowing two reasons. First, the biological waste considered hereintypically contains relatively small amounts of these halogen elementscompared to the halogenated solvents and nerve agents addressed in thecited patents. Second, the wide range of properties (e.g., oxidationpotential, solubility of compounds, cost, etc.) of the mediator speciesclaimed in this patent allows selection of a single or mixture ofmediators either avoiding formation of insoluble compounds, easilyrecovering the mediator from the precipitated materials, or beingsufficiently inexpensive so as to allow the simple disposal of theinsoluble compounds as waste, while still maintaining the capability tooxidize (i.e., destroy) the waste economically.

The waste destruction process may be monitored by severalelectrochemical and physical methods. First, various cell voltages(e.g., open circuit, anode vs. reference electrode, ion specificelectrode, etc.) yield information about the ratio of oxidized toreduced mediator ion concentrations which may be correlated with theamount of reducing agent (i.e., waste) either dissolved in or wetted bythe anolyte. Second, if a color change accompanies the transition of themediator species between its oxidized and reduced states (e.g.,heteropoly blues, etc.), the rate of decay of the color associated withthe oxidized state, under zero current conditions, could be used as agross indication of the amount of reducing agent (i.e., oxidizablewaste) present. If no color change occurs in the mediator, it may bepossible to select another mediator to simply serve as the oxidizationpotential equivalent of a pH indicator. Such an indicator is required tohave an oxidation potential between that of the working mediator and theorganic species, and a color change associated with the oxidizationstate transition.

The anolyte is circulated into the reaction chambers 5 (a,b,) and buffertank 20 through the electrochemical cell 25 by pump 19 on the anode 26side of the membrane 27. A membrane 27 in the electrochemical cell 25separates the anolyte portion and catholyte portion of the electrolyte.

Small thermal control units 21 and 22 are connected to the flow streamto heat or cool the anolyte to the selected temperature range. Ifwarranted a heat exchanger 23 can be located immediately upstream fromthe electrochemical cell 25 to lower the anolyte temperature within thecell to the desired level. Another heat exchanger 24 can be locatedimmediately upstream of the anolyte reaction chamber inlet to controlthe anolyte temperature in the reaction chamber to within the desiredtemperature range to affect the desired chemical reactions at thedesired rates.

The electrochemical cell 25 is energized by a DC power supply 29, whichis powered by the AC power supply 30. The DC power supply 29 is lowvoltage high current supply usually operating below 4V DC but notlimited to that range. The AC power supply 30 operates off a typical 110v AC line for the smaller units and 240 v AC for the larger units.

The oxidizer species population produced by electrochemical generation(i.e., anodic oxidation) of the oxidized form of the redox couplesreferenced herein can be enhanced by conducting the process at lowtemperatures, thereby reducing the rate at which thermally activatedparasitic reactions consume the oxidizer.

Reaction products resulting from the oxidation processes occurring inthe anolyte system (A) that are gaseous at the anolyte operatingtemperature and pressure are discharged to the condenser 13. The moreeasily condensed products of incomplete oxidation are separated in thecondenser 13 from the anolyte off-gas stream and are returned to theanolyte reaction chamber 5(a,b) or the buffer tank 20 for furtheroxidation. The non-condensable incomplete oxidation products (e.g., lowmolecular weight organics, carbon monoxide, etc.) are reduced toacceptable levels for atmospheric release by a gas cleaning system 16.The gas cleaning system 16 is not a necessary component of the MEOapparatus for the destruction of most types of waste.

If the gas cleaning system 16 is incorporated into the MEO apparatus,the anolyte off-gas is contacted in a counter current flow gas scrubbingsystem in the off-gas cleaning system 16, wherein the noncondensiblesfrom the condenser 13 are introduced into the lower portion of thecolumn through a flow distribution system of the gas cleaning system 16,and a small side stream of freshly oxidized anolyte direct from theelectrochemical cell 25 is introduced into the upper portion of thecolumn. This results in the gas phase continuously reacting with theoxidizing mediator species as it rises up the column past the downflowing anolyte. Under these conditions the gas about to exit the top ofthe column may have the lowest concentration of oxidizable species andalso be in contact with the anolyte having the highest concentration ofoxidizer species, thereby promoting reduction of any air pollutantspresent down to levels acceptable for release to the atmosphere or tothe fuel cell. Gas-liquid contact within the column may be promoted by anumber of well established methods (e.g., packed column, pulsed flow,ultrasonic mixing, etc,) that does not result in any meaningfulbackpressure within the anolyte flow system. Anolyte exiting the bottomof the countercurrent scrubbing column is discharged into the anolytereaction chamber 5(a,b,c) or buffer tank 20 and mixed with the remainderof the anolyte. The major products of the oxidation process are CO₂,water, and minor amounts of CO and inorganic salts, where the CO₂ isvented 14 out of the system. In selected cases oxygen gas may evolveform the anode for use in a fuel cell.

An optional inorganic compound removal and treatment systems 15 is usedshould there be more than trace amount of halogens, or other precipitateforming anions present in the waste being processed, thereby precludingformation of unstable oxycompounds (e.g., perchlorates, etc.).

The MEO process proceeds until complete destruction of the waste hasbeen affected or be modified to stop the process at a point where thedestruction of the waste is incomplete. The reason for stopping theprocess is that: a) the organic materials are benign and do not needfurther treatment, or b) the organic materials may be used in the formthey have been reduced and thus would be recovered for that purpose. Theorganic compounds recovery system 17 is used to perform this process.

Catholyte System (B)

The bulk of the catholyte is resident in the catholyte reaction chamber31. To maximize the production of hydrogen gas at the cathode, orminimize the production of any other elements or chemical compounds inthe catholyte, it is necessary that the2H⁺+2e ⁻=H₂predominates all other reactions at the cathode. The reduction of manynitrogen and halogen containing anions is thermodynamically favored overthat of hydrogen. Therefore, the presence of nitrogen and halogencontaining anions should be avoided unless they are in their lowestoxidation state (i.e., −3 and −1, respectively), thereby precludingtheir further reduction.

The catholyte portion of the electrolyte is circulated by pump 43through the electrochemical cell 25 on the cathode 28 side of themembrane 27. The catholyte portion of the electrolyte flows into acatholyte reservoir 31. Small thermal control units 45 and 46 areconnected to the catholyte flow stream to heat or cool the catholyte tothe selected temperature range.

External air is introduced through an air sparge 37 into the catholytereservoir 31, if necessary. Some catholyte systems may require airsparging to dilute hydrogen at times when the gas is not required. Anoff-gas cleaning system 39 may be used to remove any unwanted gasproducts mixed with the hydrogen. The cleaned gas stream, combined withthe unreacted components of the air introduced into the system isdischarged through the atmospheric vent 47. The hydrogen gas is outputthrough the hydrogen output 38 to a fuel cell or other hydrogen fuelconsuming equipment.

Optional anolyte recovery system 41 is positioned on the catholyte side.Some mediator oxidizer ions may cross the membrane 27 and this option isavailable if it is necessary to remove them through the anolyte recoverysystem 41 to maintain process efficiency or cell operability, or theireconomic worth necessitates their recovery. Operating theelectrochemical cell 25 at higher than normal membrane 27 currentdensities (i.e., above about 0.5 amps/cm²) increases the rate of wastedestruction, but also result in increased mediator ion transport throughthe membrane into the catholyte. It may be economically advantageous forthe electrochemical cell 25 to be operated in this mode. It isadvantageous whenever the replacement cost of the mediator species orremoval/recovery costs are less than the cost benefits of increasing thewaste throughput (i.e., oxidation rate) of the electrochemical cell 25.Increasing the capitol cost of expanding the size of the electrochemicalcell 25 can be avoided by using this operational option.

MEO Controller

An operator runs the MEO Apparatus (FIG. 1A) by using the MEO Controllerdepicted in FIG. 2 MEO Controller. The controller 49 with microprocessoris connected to a monitor 51 and a keyboard 53. The operator inputscommands to the controller 49 through the keyboard 53 responding to theinformation displayed on the monitor 51. The controller 49 runs aprogram that sequences the steps for the operation of the MEO apparatus.The program has pre-programmed sequences of standard operations that theoperator will follow or he will choose his own sequences of operations.The controller 49 allows the operator to select his own sequences withinlimits that assure a safe and reliable operation. The controller 49sends digital commands that regulates the electrical power (AC 30 and DC29) to the various components in the MEO apparatus; pumps 19 and 43,mixers 7 and 35, thermal controls 21, 22, 45, 46, ultraviolet sources11, ultrasonic sources 9 and 48, CO₂ vent 14, air sparge 37, andelectrochemical cell 25. The controller receives component response andstatus from the components. The controller sends digital commands to thesensors to access sensor information through sensor responses. Thesensors in the MEO apparatus provide digital information on the state ofthe various components. Sensors measure flow rate 59, temperature 61, pH63, CO₂, CO, O₂, venting 65, degree of oxidation 67, air sparge sensor69, hydrogen output 38, etc. The controller 49 receives statusinformation on the electrical potential (voltmeter 57) across theelectrochemical cell, or individual cells if a multi-cell configuration,and between the anode(s) and reference electrodes internal to thecell(s) 25 and the current (ammeter 55) flowing between the electrodeswithin each cell.

Example System Model

A preferred embodiment, MEO System Model 5.b (shown in FIG. 3 MEO SystemModel 5. (b) is representative of a industrial or commercial applicationfor the destruction of liquids and mixtures of small particles andliquid waste being feed from waste tank 42. This embodiment depicts aconfiguration using the system apparatus presented in FIGS. 1A and 1B.Other preferred embodiments (representing FIGS. 1B, 1D, and 1E) havedifferences in the external configuration and size but are essentiallythe same in internal function and components as depicted in FIGS. 1A and1B. The preferred embodiment in FIG. 3 comprises a housing 72constructed of metal or high strength plastic surrounding theelectrochemical cell 25, the electrolyte and the foraminous basket 3.The AC power is provided to the AC power supply 30 by the power cord 78.A monitor screen 51 is incorporated into the housing 72 for displayinginformation about the system and about the waste being treated.Additionally, a control keyboard 53 is incorporated into the housing 72for inputting information into the system. The monitor screen 51 and thecontrol keyboard 53 may be attached to the system without incorporatingthem into the housing 72. In a preferred embodiment, status lights 73are incorporated into the controller housing 71 for displayinginformation about the status of the treatment of the waste material. Anair sparge 37 is incorporated into the housing 72 to allow air to beintroduced into the catholyte reaction chamber 31 to dilute the hydrogengas evolving at the cathode when it is not being supplied to a fuel cellor other hydrogen fuel consuming system. Hydrogen gas is releasedthrough the hydrogen output 38 directly to a fuel cell or other hydrogenfuel consuming system. In addition, a CO₂ vent 14 is incorporated intothe housing 72 to allow for CO₂ release from the anolyte reactionchamber via the gas cleaning system 16 housed within. When oxygen gas isevolved at the anode it is input to the fuel cell through oxygen input40.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing includes means for cleaning outthe MEO waste treatment system, including a flush(s) 18 and drain(s) 12through which the anolyte and catholyte will pass. The preferredembodiment further comprises an atmospheric vent 47 facilitating thereleases of gases into the atmosphere from the catholyte reactionchamber 31 via the gas cleaning system 39. Other preferred embodimentsystems are similar in nature but are scaled up in size to handle alarger capacity of waste, such as incinerator replacement units.

The system has a control keyboard 53 for input of commands and data. TheOn/Off button 74 is used to turn the apparatus power on and off. Thereis a monitor screen 51 to display the systems operation and functions.Below the keyboard 53 and monitor screen 51 are the status lights 73 foron, off, and standby.

Waste is introduced into the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a) as depictedin FIG. 1B. In the case of liquids, mixtures, and continuous feedoperation, the waste is pumped using input pump 10 in the anolytereaction chamber 5(a). The flow of the waste is controlled by thecontroller where the destruction of the waste is monitored. The hoist 91positions the input line 93 from the waste source (i.e., waste tank 42).Lid 1 is closed and lid stop 2 keeps the lid opening controlled. Thehinged lid 1 is equipped with a locking latch 76 that is operated by thecontroller 49.

In the chamber 5(a) is the aqueous acid, alkali, or neutral saltelectrolyte and mediated oxidizer species solution in which the oxidizedform of the mediator redox couple initially may be present or may begenerated electrochemically after introduction of the waste andapplication of DC power 29 to the electrochemical cell 25. Similarly,the waste may be introduced when the anolyte is at or below roomtemperature, operating temperature or some optimum intermediatetemperature. DC power supply 29 provides direct current to anelectrochemical cell 25. Pump 19 circulates the anolyte portion of theelectrolyte and the waste material is rapidly oxidized at temperaturesbelow 100° C. and at ambient pressure. An in-line filter 6 preventssolid particles large enough to clog the electrochemical cell 25 flowpaths from exiting this anolyte reaction chamber 5(a). The oxidationprocess will continue to break the materials down into smaller andsmaller molecules until the products are CO₂, water, and some CO andinorganic salts. The oxidation process produces hydrogen and hydroniumions which pass through the membrane into the catholyte reactionchamber. The hydrogen and hydronium ions are evolved in to hydrogen gasat the cathode in the catholyte reaction chamber 31. The hydrogen gasexits the catholyte reaction chamber 31 through the hydrogen input 38 tothe fuel cell. An additional product of the oxidation process is oxygengas that may evolve at the anode. The oxygen gas exits the anolyte reachchamber 5(a) through the oxygen input 36 to the fuel cell.

Any residue is pacified in the form of a salt and may be periodicallyremoved through the Inorganic Compound Removal and Treatment System 15and drain outlets 12. The basic design of the MEO apparatus permits theuser to change the type of electrolyte without having to alter theequipment in the apparatus. The changing of the electrolyte isaccomplished by using the drain(s) 12 and flush(s) 18 or by opening theanolyte reaction chamber 5(a) and catholyte reaction chamber 31 tointroduce the electrolyte(s). The ability to change the type ofelectrolyte(s) allows the user to tailor the MEO process to differingwaste properties. The catholyte reservoir 31 has a screwed top 33 (shownin FIG. 1A), which allow access to the reservoir 31 for cleaning andmaintenance by service personnel.

The MEO process advantageous properties of low power consumption andvery low loses of the mediated oxidizer species and electrolyte, provideas an option for the device to be operated at a low power level duringthe day to achieve a slow rate of destruction of the waste throughoutthe day. While the MEO apparatus is in this mode, waste is added as itis generated throughout the day and the unit placed in full activationduring non-business hours.

The compactness of the device makes it ideal for small and mid-sizeapplications as well as being suitable for use with high volume inputsof industrial processes activities. The process operates at lowtemperature and ambient atmospheric pressure and does not generate toxiccompounds during the destruction of the waste, making the processindoors compatible. The system is scalable to a unit large enough toreplace a hospital incinerator system. The CO₂ oxidation product fromthe anolyte system A is vented out the CO₂ vent 14. The hydrogen gasevolves at the cathode from the hydrogen ion from the oxidation process.The hydrogen gas in the catholyte system B is vented through thehydrogen output 38 to a fuel cell or other hydrogen fuel consumingsystem.

Steps of the Operation of the MEO System Model 5.b

The steps of the operation of the MEO process are depicted in FIG. 4 MEOSystem 5.b Operational Steps These operational steps are presented toillustrate the operation of one of the MEO apparatus' (using anolytereaction chamber 5(a) from the four configurations previously discussedfor oxidizing the various types of waste. When other anolyte reactionchambers 5(b,c,d) configurations are used the series of steps would besimilar to the ones for FIG. 1C which covers solids, mixtures of solidsand liquids being processed in a batch feed mode.

This MEO apparatus is contained in the housing 72. The MEO system isstarted 81 by the operator engaging the ‘ON’ button 74 on the controlkeyboard 53. The system controller 49, which contains a microprocessor,runs the program that controls the entire sequence of operations 82. Themonitor screen 51 displays the steps of the process in the propersequence. The status lights 73 on the panel provide the status of theMEO apparatus (e.g. on, off, ready, standby).

The waste is introduced into the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a) asdepicted in FIG. 1B. In the case of liquids, mixtures, and continuousoperation, input pump 1 is operated and the waste is placed 83 in thebasket 3, whereupon the liquid portion flows into the anolyte. Thelocking latch 76 is activated.

The pumps 19 and 43 begin circulation 85 of the anolyte 87 and catholyte89, respectively. As soon as the electrolyte circulation is establishedthroughout the system, the mixers 7 and 35 begin to operate 91 and 93.Depending upon waste characteristics (e.g., reaction kinetics, heat ofreaction, etc.) it may be desirable to introduce the waste into a roomtemperature or cooler anolyte system with little or none of the mediatorredox couple in the oxidized form. Once flow is established the thermalcontrols units 21, 22, 45, and 46 are turned on 95/97, initiatingpredetermined anodic oxidation and electrolyte heating programs.

The electrochemical cell 25 is energized 94 (by electrochemical cellcommands 56) to apply the correct voltage and current as is monitored bythe voltmeter 57 and ammeter 55 determined by the controller program.The input pump 10 is activated and the waste in brought into the anolytereaction chamber 5(a). By using programmed electrical power levels andelectrolyte temperature it is possible to maintain a predetermined wastedestruction rate profile such as a relatively constant reaction rate asthe more reactive waste components are oxidized, thus resulting in theremaining waste becoming less and less reactive, thereby requiring moreand more vigorous oxidizing conditions.

The ultrasonic sources 9 and 48 and ultraviolet systems 11 are activated99 and 101 in the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a) and catholyte reactionchamber 31 respectively, if those options are chosen in the controllerprogram.

The CO₂ vent 14 is activated 103 to release CO₂ from the waste oxidationprocess in the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a). Hydrogen gas is released105 through the hydrogen output 38 to a fuel cell or other hydrogen fuelconsuming system. If the hydrogen is not being used as a fuel, the airsparge 37 draws air into the catholyte reaction chamber 31, and the airis discharged out the atmospheric vent 47 to dilute the hydrogen gas forrelease into the atmosphere.

The progress of the destruction process may be monitored in thecontroller (oxidation detector 67) by various cell voltages 57 andcurrents 55, (e.g., open circuit, anode vs. reference electrode, ionspecific electrodes, etc,) as well as monitoring anolyte off-gas (usingthe sensor 65) composition for CO₂, CO and oxygen content.

When the oxidation sensors 65 and 67 determine the desired degree ofwaste destruction has been obtained 107, the system goes to standby 109.The system operator executes system shutdown 111 using the controllerkeyboard 53.

While the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, modifications and variations of the invention may beconstructed without departing from the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES

The following examples illustrate the application of the process and theapparatus.

Example (1) Destruction of Food Waste

The environmental effects of food waste disposal methods are a concern,particularly with respect to surface water and ground water quality andto air quality as affected by odors and gaseous emissions fromlarge-scale food production operations.

Samples of various types of food waste was collected for test purposes.The samples included cooked and uncooked meat and bone. The samplestested in the MEO apparatus were from poultry and cattle foodprocessing. The MEO apparatus was operated at 50° C. for each samplestested. The food waste was totally destroyed producing water and CO₂.There was a small amount of inorganic salt remaining in the settlingtank of the MEO apparatus after completion of the destruction.

Food waste is a good candidate for the waste to be used to generatehydrogen fuel and at the same time dispose of the undesirable foodwaste.

Example (2) Efficient and Environmentally Safe Products

The MEO process produces CO₂, water, and trace inorganic salts all ofwhich are considered benign for introduction into the environment byregulatory agencies. The cost of using the MEO process in this inventionis competitive with both the incineration and landfill methodologies.The MEO process is uniquely suited for destruction of waste becausewater, which constitutes a major portion of this waste (e.g., tissue,bodies fluids, etc.) is either benign or actually a source of secondaryoxidizing species, rather than parasitic reactions competing for themediator oxidizing species. Furthermore, the energy that must beprovided in the MEO process to heat the waste stream water componentfrom ambient to the electrolyte operating temperature (i.e., 80° C.maximum temperature increase) is trivial compared to the water enthalpyincrease required in autoclave or incineration based processes.

The generation of hydrogen fuel from the destruction of the waste hasseveral highly desirable features. First the MEO process converts thewaste in to environmental friendly products (e.g., CO₂, water, and traceinorganic salts) in the anolyte reaction chamber. Second, the resultinghydrogen produced in the catholyte reaction chamber is environmentallyfriendly as well. The hydrogen combining with oxygen in the fuel cell orin other hydrogen fuel consuming equipment produces as by-product onlywater.

Example (3) Benign In-door Operation

The system is unique relative to earlier art, since it is built tooperate in an indoor environment such as a production or assembly linewhere it must be compatible with people working in close proximity tothe system. The system is suitable for indoor use in spaces inhabited bypersonnel as well as for industrial workspaces similar to an incineratorbuilding.

Example (4) Inheritantly Safe Operation

The system is built to require limited operating skill. The systemcontroller is programmed to guide the operator through the normaloperating cycle as well as the various options available. The system isaccessible during its operating cycle so that additional waste may beadded to waste in process, while remaining compatible with the roomenvironment. When new waste is to be added to the system duringoperation the operator selects that option, the system controllerrecycles the system operational steps back to step 83. The controllerdeactivates steps 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 101 and maintainssteps 103 and 105 in their active mode. The controller releases thelocking latch 76 and the operator adds additional waste. After theoperator has completed the addition he selects the restart option. Thesystem recycles back through these steps to continue the processing ofthe waste.

Example (5) Chemical Reactions are Safe

The system is built to operate with materials that are safe to handle inthe environment in which it is to be used. The waste contains little orno substances that react with our choice of electrolytes to producevolatile compounds that offer a problem in the room environment. Thesystem may operate at temperatures from approximately 0° C. to slightlyless then the boiling point of the electrolyte (i.e., usually less then100° C.) and at ambient atmospheric pressure, which adds to the indoorcompatibility.

Example (6) A Green Machine

The simplicity of the new system built for use with waste produces asystem more economically to operate and cleaner to use than existingwaste treatments. The system complexity is reduced by comparison toprevious MEO systems, since there is not a requirement to deal withlarge quantities of halogens. The operating temperature range is aparticularly attractive feature in that it does not operate in a rangewhere toxic organic gases can be generated as a by-product. The systemis truly a ‘green machine’ in the sense of an environmentally benignsystem.

Example (7) System Flexibility

The system is built so that the composition of the electrolyte may bechanged to adapt the system to a selected composition of the wastestream. Different types of waste can be processed by the same system byeither using the same electrolyte or replacing the mediator andelectrolyte (either or both the catholyte and anolyte) more suitable forthe alternative waste. The system is configured with ports to flush anddrain the anolyte and catholyte separately. The mediator anolyte redoxcouples do not react with the waste and become consumed in the process.The loss of mediator anolyte redox couples is very small thus impactingthe cost of operation in a positive way.

Example (8) System By-Products are Safe

The system flexibility provides for the introduction of more then onemediator ion resulting in marked improvement in the efficiency of theelectrolyte. Furthermore, the wide choice of mediators listed in Table Ior available as POMs, and electrolytes in this patent, desensitizes thesystem to the formation of participates in solution (i.e. allowsincreased ease in preventing formation of unstable oxy compounds).

While the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, modifications and variations of the invention may beconstructed without departing from the scope of the invention, which isdefined in the following characteristics and features.

The invention provides the following new characteristics and features:

-   1. A process for the use the mediated electrochemical oxidation    (MEO) on biological and organic waste materials to produce hydrogen    and oxygen comprising disposing an electrolyte in an electrochemical    cell, separating the electrolyte into an anolyte portion and a    catholyte portion with an ion-selective membrane or semi-permeable    membrane or ceramic membrane or sintered glass frit, applying a    direct current voltage between the anolyte portion and the catholyte    portion, placing the waste materials in the anolyte portion, and    oxidizing the waste materials in the anolyte portion with a mediated    electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process producing hydrogen at the    cathode and oxygen at the anode, wherein the anolyte portion further    comprises a mediator in aqueous solution and the electrolyte is an    acid, neutral or alkaline aqueous solution.-   2. The process of paragraph 1, wherein:

a. the anolyte portion further comprises one or more simple anionsmediator ion species selected from the group described in Table I (inthe aqueous solution and the electrolyte is an acid, neutral or alkalinesolution;

b. the oxidizing species are selected from one or more Type Iisopolyanions (i.e., complex anion redox couple mediators) containingtungsten, molybdenum, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, or combinationsthereof as addenda atoms in aqueous solution and the electrolyte is anacid, neutral or alkaline aqueous solution;

c. the oxidizing species are selected from one or more Type Iheteropolyanions formed by incorporation into the aforementionedisopolyanions, as heteroatoms, any of the elements listed in Table II,either singly or in combination thereof in the aqueous solutions and theelectrolyte is an acid, neutral, or alkaline aqueous solution;

d. the oxidizing species are selected from one or more of anyheteropolyanions containing at least one heteroatom type (i.e., element)contained in both Table I and Table II in the aqueous solutions and theelectrolyte is an acid, neutral, or alkaline aqueous solution;

e. the oxidizing species are selected from combinations of anion redoxcouple mediators from any or all of the previous four subparagraphs(2a., 2b., 2c., and 2d.);

f. adding stabilizing compounds to the electrolyte such as tellurate orperiodate ions which serve to overcome and stabilize the short lifetimeof the oxidized form of the higher oxidation state species of the simpleand complex anion redox couple mediators;

g. each of the species has normal valence states and higher valenceoxidizing states and further comprising creating the higher valenceoxidizing states of the oxidizing species by stripping electrons fromnormal valence state species in the electrochemical cell;

h. the oxidizing species are “super oxidizers” (SO) typically exhibitoxidation potentials at least equal to that of the Ce⁺³/Ce⁺⁴ redoxcouple (i.e., 1.7 volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH 1) which are redoxcouple species that have the capability of producing free radicals suchas hydroxyl or perhydroxyl and further comprising creating secondaryoxidizers by reacting the SO's with water;

i. using an alkaline solution for aiding decomposing of the wastematerials derived from the saponification (i.e., base promoted esterhydrolysis) of fatty acids to form water soluble alkali metal salts ofthe fatty acids (i.e., soaps) and glycerin, a process similar to theproduction of soap from animal fat by introducing it into a hot aqueouslye solution.;

j. using an alkaline anolyte solution that absorbs CO₂ forming fromoxidation of the waste sodium bicarbonate/carbonate solution whichsubsequently circulates through the electrochemical cell, producing apercarbonate oxidizer;

k. using oxidizing species from the MEO process inorganic free radicalswill be generated in aqueous solutions from species such as but notlimited to carbonate, azide, nitrite, nitrate, phosphite, phosphate,sulfite, sulfate, selenite, thiocyanate, chloride, bromide, iodide, andformate oxidizing species;

l. the regeneration of the oxidizer part of the redox couple in theanolyte portion is done within the electrochemical cell;

m. the membrane (separator between anolyte and catholyte solutions) canbe microporous plastic, sintered glass frit, etc.;

n. the impression of an AC voltage upon the DC voltage to retard theformation of cell performance limiting surface films on the electrode;

o. disposing a foraminous basket in the anolyte;

p. the oxidizer species addressed in this patent are described in: TableI (simple anions); Type I isopolyanions containing tungsten, molybdenum,vanadium, niobium, tantalum, or combinations thereof as addenda atoms;Type I heteropolyanions formed by incorporation into the aforementionedisopolyanions, as heteroatoms, any of the elements listed in Table II,either singly or in combinations thereof; or any heteropolyanionscontaining at least one heteroatom type (i.e., element) contained inboth Table I and Table II;

q. oxygen gas evolving from the anode is feed to a fuel cell such as aproton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell.

r. lower the temperature (e.g. between 0° C. and room temperature) ofthe anolyte before it enters the electrochemical cell to enhance thegeneration of the oxidized form of the anion redox couple mediator; and

s. raise the temperature of the anolyte entering the anolyte reactionchamber to affect the desired chemical reactions at the desired ratesfollowing the lowering of the temperature of the anolyte entering theelectrochemical cell.

-   3. The process of paragraph 1, wherein:

a. introducing an ultrasonic energy into the anolyte portion rupturingcell membranes in the biological waste materials by momentarily raisinglocal temperature within the cell membranes with the ultrasonic energyto above several thousand degrees and causing cell membrane failure;

b. introducing ultraviolet energy into the anolyte portion anddecomposing hydrogen peroxide and ozone into hydroxyl free radicalstherein, thereby increasing efficiency of the MEO process by convertingproducts of electron consuming parasitic reactions (i.e., ozone andhydrogen peroxide) into viable free radical (i.e., secondary) oxidizerswithout the consumption of additional electrons;

c. using a surfactant to be added to the anolyte promote dispersion ofthe waste or intermediate stage reaction products within the aqueoussolution when these waste or reaction products are not water-soluble andtend to form immiscible layers;

d. using simple and/or complex redox couple mediators, and attackingspecific organic molecules with the oxidizing species while operating atlow temperatures thus preventing the formation of dioxins and furans;

e. breaking down waste materials into intermediate organic compounds andattacking the organic compounds using either the simple and/or complexanion redox couple mediator or inorganic free radicals to generatingorganic free radicals;

f. raising normal valence state anions to a higher valence state andstripping the normal valence state anions of electrons in theelectrochemical cell; [The oxidized forms of any other redox couplespresent are produced either by similar anodic oxidation or reaction withthe oxidized form of other redox couples present. The oxidized speciesof the redox couples oxidize the waste molecules and are themselvesconverted to their reduced form, whereupon they are reoxidized by eitherof the aforementioned mechanisms and the redox cycle continues];

g. circulating anions through an electrochemical cell to affect theanodic oxidation of the reduced form of the reversible redox couple intothe oxidized form;

h. contacting anions with waste materials in the anolyte portion;

i. circulating anions through the electrochemical cell;

j. involving anions with an oxidation potential above a threshold valueof 1.7 volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH 1 (i.e., super oxidizer) in asecondary oxidation process and producing oxidizers;

k. adding a ultraviolet (UV) energy source to the anolyte portion andaugmenting secondary oxidation processes, breaking down hydrogenperoxide and ozone into hydroxyl free radicals, and thus increasing theoxidation processes; and

l. the oxidizer species addressed in this patent are described in TableI (simple anions redox couple mediators): Type I IPAs formed by Mo, W,V, Nb, Ta, or mixtures there of; Type I HPAs formed by incorporationinto the aforementioned IPAs if any of the elements listed in Table II(heteroatoms) either singly or in thereof; Or any HPA containing atleast one heteroatom type (i.e., element) contained in both Table I andTable II or combinations mediator species from any or all of thesegeneric groups.

-   4. The process of paragraph 1, further comprising:

a. using oxidizer species that are found in situ in the, waste to bedestroyed, by circulating the waste-anolyte mixture through anelectrochemical cell where the oxidized form of the in situ reversibleredox couple will be formed by anodic oxidation or alternately reactingwith the oxidized form of a more powerful redox couple, if added to theanolyte and anodically oxidized in the electrochemical cell, therebydestroying the waste material;

b. using an alkaline electrolyte, such as but not limited to NaOH or KOHwith mediator species wherein the reduced form of said mediator redoxcouple displays sufficient solubility in said electrolyte to allow thedesired oxidation of the waste to proceed at a practical rate. Theoxidation potential of redox reactions producing hydrogen ions (i.e.,both mediator species and organic waste molecules reactions) areinversely proportional to the electrolyte pH, thus with the properselection of a mediator redox couple, it is possible, by increasing theelectrolyte pH, to minimize the electric potential required to affectthe desired oxidation process, thereby reducing the electric powerconsumed per unit mass of waste destroyed;

c. the aqueous solution is chosen from acids such as but not limited tosulfuric acid, or phosphoric acid, or mixtures thereof; or alkalinessuch as but not limited to of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide,or mixtures thereof, or neutral electrolytes, such as but not limited tosodium or potassium sulfates, or phosphates or mixtures thereof; and

d. the use of ultrasonic energy induce microscopic bubble implosionwhich is used to affect a desired reduction in sized of the individualsecond phase waste volumes dispersed in the anolyte.

-   5. The process of paragraph 1, further comprising:

a. interchanging oxidizing species in a preferred embodiment withoutchanging equipment; and

b. the electrolyte is acid, neutral, or alkaline in aqueous solution.

-   6. The process of paragraph 1, further comprising:

a. separating the anolyte portion and the catholyte portion with aion-selective or semi-permeable membrane, or microporous polymermembrane, ceramic membrane, or sintered glass frit, or other similarmembrane;

b. applying an externally induced electrical potential induced betweenthe anode(s) and cathode(s) plates of the electrochemical cell at aelectrical potential sufficient to form the oxidized form of the redoxcouple having the highest oxidation potential in the anolyte;

c. introducing waste materials into the anolyte portion;

d. forming the reduced form of one or more reversible redox couples bycontacting with oxidizable molecules, the reaction with which oxidizesthe oxidizable material with the concuminent reduction of the oxidizedform of the reversible redox couples to their reduced form;

e. the ultrasonic source connected to the anolyte for augmentingsecondary oxidation processes by momentarily heating the hydrogenperoxide in the electrolyte to 4800° C. at 1000 atmospheres therebydissociating the hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl free radicals thusincreasing the oxidation processes;

f. oxidation potentials of redox reactions producing hydrogen ions areinversely related to pH;

g. the process is performed at a temperature from slightly above 0° C.to slightly below the boiling point of the electrolyte usually less then100° C.;

h. the temperature at which the process is performed is varied;

i. the treating and oxidizing waste comprises treating and oxidizingsolid waste;

j. the treating and oxidizing waste comprises treating and oxidizingliquid waste;

k. the treating and oxidizing waste comprises treating and oxidizing acombination of liquids and solids; and

l. removing and treating precipitates resulting from combinations ofoxidizing species and other species released from the waste duringdestruction.

-   7. The process of paragraph 1, further comprising that it is not    necessary for both the anolyte and catholyte solutions to contain    the same electrolyte rather each electrolyte system may be    independent of the other, consisting of an aqueous solution of    acids, typically but not limited to sulfuric or phosphoric; alkali,    typically but not limited to sodium or potassium hydroxide; or    neutral salt, typically but not limited to sodium or potassium salts    of the afore mentioned strong acids.-   8. The process of paragraph 1, further comprising the operating of    the electrochemical cell at a current density greater then 0.5 amp    per square centimeter across the membrane, even though this is the    limit over which there is the possibility that metallic anions may    leak through the membrane in small quantities, and recovering the    metallic anions through a devise such as a resin column thus    allowing a greater rate of destruction of materials in the anolyte    chamber.-   9. The process of paragraph 1, wherein:

a. the catholyte solution further comprises an aqueous solution and theelectrolyte in the solution is composed of acids, typically but notlimited to sulfuric or phosphoric; or alkali, typically but not limitedto sodium or potassium hydroxide; or neutral salt, typically but notlimited to sodium or potassium salts of the afore mentioned strongacids;

b. concentration of electrolyte in the catholyte is governed by itseffect upon the conductivity of the catholyte solution desired in theelectrochemical cell;

c. ultrasonic energy induced microscopic bubble implosion is used toaffect vigorous mixing in the catholyte solution where it is desirableto oxidize compounds generated in the catholyte electrolyte;

d. mechanical mixing is used to affect vigorous mixing in the catholytesolution where it is desirable to oxidize compounds generated in thecatholyte;

e. air is introduced into the catholyte solution to promote oxidation ofcompounds generated where it is desirable in the catholyte electrolyte;

f. air is introduced into the catholyte solution to dilute any hydrogenproduced in the catholyte solution before being released; and

g. hydrogen gas evolving from the cathode is feed to an apparatus thatuses hydrogen as a fuel such as a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuelcell.

-   10. An apparatus for treating and oxidizing waste materials    comprising an electrochemical cell, an electrolyte disposed in the    electrochemical cell, a hydrogen or hydronium ion-permeable    membrane, disposed in the electrochemical cell for separating the    cell into anolyte and catholyte chambers and separating the    electrolyte into anolyte and catholyte portions, electrodes further    comprising an anode(s) and a cathode(s) disposed in the    electrochemical cell respectively in the anolyte and catholyte    chambers and in the anolyte and catholyte portions of the    electrolyte, a power supply connected to the anode and the cathode    for applying a direct current voltage between the anolyte and the    catholyte portions of the electrolyte, a foraminous basket disposed    in the anolyte chamber for receiving the waste materials, and    oxidizing of the waste materials in the anolyte portion with a    mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process wherein the anolyte    portion further comprises a mediator in aqueous solution and the    electrolyte is an acid, neutral or alkaline aqueous solution.-   11. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. adding stabilizing compounds to the electrolyte such as tellurate orperiodate ions which serve to overcome and stabilize the short lifetimeof the oxidized form of the higher oxidation state species of the simpleand complex anion redox couple mediators;

b. the oxidizer species addressed in this patent are described in TableI (simple anions redox couple mediators);

c. the oxidizer species addressed in this patent are; Type I IPAs formedby Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, or mixtures there of; Type I HPAs formed byincorporation into the aforementioned IPAs if any of the elements listedin Table II (heteroatoms) either singly or in thereof; Or any HPAcontaining at least one heteroatom type (i.e., element) contained inboth Table I and Table II;

d. the oxidizer species addressed in this patent are combinationsmediator species from any or all of these generic groups;

e. the oxidizing species are super oxidizers and further comprising thecreation of secondary oxidizers by reacting with the super oxidizers inthe aqueous anolyte;

f. an alkaline solution for aiding decomposing the waste materials;

g. an alkaline solution for absorbing CO₂ and forming alkali metalbicarbonate/carbonate for circulating through the electrochemical cellfor producing a percarbonate oxidizer;

h. using oxidizing species from the MEO process inorganic free radicalswill be generated in aqueous solutions derived from carbonate, azide,nitrite, nitrate, phosphite, phosphate, sulfite, sulfate, selenite,thiocyanate, chloride, bromide, iodide, and formate oxidizing species;

i. organic free radicals for aiding the MEO process and breaking downthe organic waste materials into simpler (i.e., smaller molecularstructure) organic compounds;

j. anions with an oxidation potential above a threshold value of 1.7volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH 1 (i.e., super oxidizer) for involvingin a secondary oxidation process for producing oxidizers;

k. the use of Ultrasonic energy induce microscopic bubble implosionwhich is used to affect a desired reduction in sized of the individualsecond phase waste volumes dispersed in the anolyte;

l. membrane is ion-selective or semi-permeable (i.e., microporousplastic, ceramic, sintered glass frit, etc.); and

m. with the possible impression of an AC voltage upon the DC voltage toretard the formation of cell performance limiting surface films on theelectrode.

-   12. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. each of the oxidizing species has normal valence states (i.e.,reduced form of redox couple) and higher valence oxidizing states andfurther comprising creating the higher valence oxidizing states (i.e.,oxidized form of redox couple) of the oxidizing species by stripping andreducing electrons off normal valence state species in theelectrochemical cell;

b. using species that are usable in alkaline solutions since oxidationpotentials of redox reactions producing hydrogen ions are inverselyrelated to pH which reduces the electrical power required to destroy thewaste;

c. further oxidizing species, and attacking specific organic moleculeswith the oxidizing species while operating at temperatures sufficientlylow so as to preventing the formation of dioxins and furans;

d. energizing the electrochemical cell at a voltage level sufficient toform the oxidized form of the redox couple having the highest oxidationpotential in the anolyte;

e. lower the temperature (e.g. between 0° C. and room temperature) ofthe anolyte with the heat exchanger before it enters the electrochemicalcell to enhance the generation of the oxidized form of the anion redoxcouple mediator; and

f. raise the temperature of the anolyte entering the anolyte reactionchamber with the heat exchanger to affect the desired chemical reactionsat the desired rates following the lowering of the temperature of theanolyte entering the electrochemical cell.

-   13. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. the oxidizing species are one or more Type I isopolyanions (i.e.,complex anion redox couple mediators) containing tungsten, molybdenum,vanadium, niobium, tantalum, or combinations thereof as addenda atoms inaqueous solution and the electrolyte is an acid, neutral or alkalineaqueous solution;

b. the oxidizing species are one or more Type I heteropolyanions formedby incorporation into the aforementioned isopolyanions, as heteroatoms,any of the elements listed in Table II, either singly or in combinationthereof in the aqueous solutions and the electrolyte is an acid,neutral, or alkaline aqueous solution;

c. the oxidizing species are one or more of any heteropolyanionscontaining at least one heteroatom type (i.e., element) contained inboth Table I and Table II in the aqueous solutions and the electrolyteis an acid, neutral, or alkaline aqueous solution;

d. the oxidizing species are combinations of anion redox couplemediators from any or all of the previous three subparagraphs (13a.,13b., and 13c.);

e. the oxidizing species are higher valence state of species found insitu for destroying the waste material; and

f. the electrolyte is an acid, neutral, or alkaline aqueous solution.

-   14. The apparatus of paragraph 10, further comprising:

a. the aqueous solution is chosen from acids such as but not limited tosulfuric acid, or phosphoric acid; alkalines such as but not limited tosodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide; or neutral electrolytes such asbut not limited to sodium or potassium sulfates, or phosphates;

b. with an ion-selective or semi-permeable (i.e., microporous plastic,ceramic, sintered glass frit, etc.) membrane for separating the anolyteportion and the catholyte portion while allowing hydrogen or hydroniumion passage from the anolyte to the catholyte;

c. oxidation potentials of redox reactions producing hydrogen ions areinversely related to pH;

d. the waste is liquid waste;

e. the waste is solid waste;

f. the waste is a combination of liquids and solids and non-waste; and

g. oxidizing species may be interchanged in a preferred embodimentwithout changing equipment.

-   15. The apparatus of paragraph 10, further comprising:    -   a. a anolyte reaction chamber(s) 5(b,c) and buffer tank 20        housing the bulk of the anolyte portion and the foraminous        basket 3;    -   b. a anolyte reaction chamber 5(a) housing the bulk of the        anolyte portion;    -   c. a anolyte reaction chamber 5(d) and buffer tank 20 housing        the bulk of the anolyte portion;    -   d. an input pump 10 is attached to the anolyte reaction chamber        5(a) to enter liquid waste into the anolyte reaction chamber        5(a);    -   e. a spray head 4(a) and a stream head 4(b) attached to the        tubing coming from the electrochemical cell 25 that inputs the        anolyte containing the oxidizer into the anolyte reaction        chamber(s) 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 in such a manner as to        promote mixing of the incoming anolyte with the anolyte already        in the anolyte reaction chambers(s) 5(a,b,c);    -   f. a anolyte reaction chamber(s) 5(b,c) houses a foraminous        basket 3 with a top that holds solid forms of the waste in the        electrolyte;    -   g. a hinged lid 1 attached to the anolyte reaction chamber(s)        5(a,b,c) allowing insertion of waste into the anolyte portion as        liquid, solid, or a mixture of liquids and solids;    -   h. the lid 1 contains an locking latch 76 to secure the anolyte        reaction chamber(s) 5(a,b,c) during operation;    -   i. a suction pump 8 is attached to buffer tank 20 to pump        anolyte to the anolyte reaction chamber(s) 5(c,d);    -   j. an input pump 10 to pump anolyte from the anolyte reaction        chamber(s) 5(c,d) back into the buffer tank 20; and    -   k. an air pump 32 to pump off gases from the anolyte reaction        chamber(s) 5(c,d) back into the buffer tank 20 for further        oxidation.-   16. The apparatus of paragraph 10, further comprising:

a. an ultraviolet source 11 connected to the anolyte reaction chamber(s)5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 and decomposing hydrogen peroxide and ozoneinto hydroxyl free radicals therein and increasing efficiency of the MEOprocess by recovering energy through the oxidation of the wastematerials in the anolyte chamber by these secondary oxidizers;

b. an ultrasonic source 9 connected to the anolyte reaction chamber(s)5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 for augmenting secondary oxidation processesby heating the hydrogen peroxide containing electrolyte to produceextremely short lived and localized conditions of 4800° C. and 1000atmospheres pressure within the anolyte to dissociate hydrogen peroxideinto hydroxyl free radicals thus increasing the oxidation processes;

c. an ultrasonic energy 9 source connected into the anolyte reactionchamber(s) 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 for irradiating cell membranes inwaste materials by momentarily raising temperature within the cellmembranes and causing cell membrane fail and rupture thus creatinggreater exposure of cell contents to oxidizing species in the anolyte;

d. the use of ultrasonic energy for mixing material in the anolyte, viathe ultrasonic energy source 9, to induce microscopic bubble implosionwhich is used to affect a desired reduction in sized of the individualsecond phase waste volumes and disperse throughout the anolyte;

e. a mixer 7 for stirring the anolyte connected to the anolyte reactionchamber(s) 5(a,b,c) and the buffer tank 20;

f. a CO₂ vent 14 for releasing CO₂ atmospherically;

g. the penetrator 34 is attached to the basket 3 in anolyte reactionchamber(s) 5(b,c) to puncture any solids;

h. an inorganic compounds removal and treatment system 15 connected tothe anolyte reaction chamber(s) 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 is usedshould there be more than trace amount of chlorine, or other precipitateforming anions present in the waste being processed, thereby precludingformation of unstable oxycompounds_(e.g., perchlorates, etc.);

i. a gas cleaning system 16 comprises scrubber/absorption columns;

j. the condenser 13 connected to the anolyte reaction chamber(s)5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20;

k) non-condensable incomplete oxidation products (e.g., low molecularweight organics, carbon monoxide, etc.) are reduced to acceptable levelsfor atmospheric release by a gas cleaning system 16;

l. gas cleaning system 16 is not a necessary component of the MEOapparatus for the destruction of most types of waste;

m. when the gas cleaning system 16 is incorporated into the MEOapparatus, the anolyte off-gas is contacted in a gas cleaning system 16wherein the noncondensibles from the condenser 13 are introduced intothe lower portion of the gas cleaning system 16 through a flowdistribution system and a small side stream of freshly oxidized anolytedirect from the electrochemical cell 25 is introduced into the upperportion of the column, this results in the gas phase continuouslyreacting with the oxidizing mediator species as it rises up the columnpast the down flowing anolyte;

n. external drain 12, for draining to the organic compound removalsystem 17 and the inorganic compounds removal and treatment system 15,and for draining the anolyte system;

o. organic compounds recovery system 17 is used to recover a) organicmaterials that are benign and do not need further treatment, and b)organic materials that is used in the form they have been reduced andthus would be recovered for that purpose;

p. small thermal control units 21 and 22 are connected to the flowstream to heat or cool the anolyte to the selected temperature range;

q. anolyte is circulated into the anolyte reaction chamber(s) 5(a,b,c,d)and buffer tank 20 through the electrochemical cell 25 by pump 19 on theanode 26 side of the membrane 27;

r. a flush(s) 18 for flushing the anolyte and catholyte systems;

s. filter 6 is located at the base of the anolyte reaction chambers5(a,b,c,d) and buffer tank 20 to limit the size of the solid particlesto approximately 1 mm in diameter;

t. membrane 27 in the electrochemical cell 25 separates the anolyteportion and catholyte portion of the electrolyte;

u. electrochemical cell 25 is energized by a DC power supply 29, whichis powered by the AC power supply 30;

v. DC power supply 29 is low voltage high current supply usuallyoperating below 4V DC but not limited to that range;

w. AC power supply 30 operates off a typical 110 v AC line for thesmaller units and 240 v AC for the larger units;

x. electrolyte containment boundary is composed of materials resistantto the oxidizing electrolyte (e.g., stainless steel, PTFE, PTFE linedtubing, glass, etc.); and

y. an electrochemical cell 25 connected to the anolyte reactionchamber(s) 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20.

-   17. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. in the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 is theaqueous acid, alkali, or neutral salt electrolyte and mediated oxidizerspecies solution in which the oxidizer form of the mediator redox coupleinitially may be present or may be generated electrochemically afterintroduction of the waste and application of DC power 29 to theelectrochemical cell 25;

b. waste is introduced when the anolyte is at room temperature,operating temperature or some optimum intermediate temperature;

c. DC power supply 29 provides direct current to an electrochemical cell25;

d. pump 19 circulates the anolyte portion of the electrolyte and thewaste material is rapidly oxidized at temperatures below 100° C. andambient pressure;

e. in-line filter 6 prevents solid particles large enough to clog theelectrochemical cell 25 flow paths from exiting this reaction chambers5(a,b,c,d) and buffer tank 20;

f. residue is pacified in the form of a salt and may be periodicallyremoved through the Inorganic Compound Removal and Treatment System 15and drain outlets 12;

g. electrolyte may be changed through this same plumbing forintroduction into the reaction chambers 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20 and31;

h. the process operates at low temperature and ambient atmosphericpressure and does not generate toxic compounds during the destruction ofthe waste, making the process indoors compatible;

i. the system is scalable to a unit large for a large industrialapplication; and

j. CO₂ oxidation product from the anolyte system A is vented out the CO₂vent 14.

-   18. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. an anolyte recovery system 41 connected to the catholyte pump (43);

b. a thermal control unit 45 connected to the catholyte reservoir forvarying the temperature of the catholyte portion;

c. a catholyte reservoir 31 connected to the cathode portion of theelectrochemical cell;

d. bulk of the catholyte is resident in the catholyte reaction chamber31;

e. catholyte portion of the electrolyte flows into a catholyte reservoir31;

f. an air sparge 37 connected to the catholyte reservoir 31 forintroducing air into the catholyte reservoir 31;

g. an anolyte recovery system 41 for capturing the anions and forreintroducing the anions into the anolyte chamber(s) 5(a,b,c) and buffertank 20 or disposal from the catholyte electrolyte;

h. an off gas cleaning system 39 for cleaning gases before release intothe atmosphere connected to the catholyte reservoir 31;

i. an atmospheric vent 47 for releasing gases into the atmosphereconnected to the off gas cleaning system 39;

j. cleaned gas from the off gas cleaning system 39 is combined withunreacted components of the air introduced into the system anddischarged through the atmospheric vent 47;

k. a catholyte reservoir 31 has a screwed top 33 (shown in FIG. 1A),which allow access to the reservoir 31 for cleaning and maintenance byservice personnel;

l. a mixer 35 for stirring the catholyte connected to the catholytereservoir 31;

m. a catholyte pump 43 for circulating catholyte back to theelectrochemical cell 25 connected to the catholyte reservoir 31;

n. a drain 12 for draining catholyte;

o. a flush 18 for flushing the catholyte system;

p. an air sparge 37 connected to the housing for introducing air intothe catholyte reaction chamber 31;

q. catholyte portion of the electrolyte is circulated by pump 43 throughthe electrochemical cell 25 on the cathode 28 side of the membrane 27;

r. small thermal control units 45 and 46 are connected to the catholyteflow stream to heat or cool the catholyte to the selected temperaturerange;

s. contact of the oxidizing gas with the catholyte electrolyte may beenhanced by using conventional techniques for promoting gas/liquidcontact by a ultrasonic vibration 48, mechanical mixing 35, etc.;

t. operating the electrochemical cell 25 at higher than normal membrane27 current densities (i.e., above about 0.5 amps/cm²) will increase therate of waste destruction, but also result in increased mediator iontransport through the membrane into the catholyte;

u. optional anolyte recovery system 41 is positioned on the catholyteside;

v. some catholyte systems may also require air sparging to dilute and/orremove off-gas such as hydrogen when they are not desired;

w. some mediator oxidizer ions may cross the membrane 27 and this optionis available if it is necessary to remove them through the anolyterecovery system 41 to maintain process efficiency or cell operability,or their economic worth necessitates their recovery;

x. using the anolyte recovery system 41 the capitol cost of expandingthe size of the electrochemical cell 25 can be avoided; and

y. operating the electrochemical cell 25 at higher than normal membranecurrent density (i.e., above about 0.5 amps per centimeter squared)improves economic efficiency.

-   19. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. operator runs the MEO Apparatus (FIG. 1) and FIG. 5( b) by using theMEO Controller depicted in FIG. 2 MEO Controller;

b. controller 49 with microprocessor is connected to a monitor 51 and akeyboard 53;

c. operator inputs commands to the controller 49 through the keyboard 53responding to the information displayed on the monitor 51;

d. controller 49 runs a program that sequences the steps for theoperation of the MEO apparatus;

e. program has pre-programmed sequences of standard operations that theoperator follows or he chooses his own sequences of operations;

f. controller 49 allows the operator to select his own sequences withinlimits that assure a safe and reliable operation;

g. controller 49 sends digital commands that regulates the electricalpower (AC 30 and DC 29) to the various components in the MEO apparatus:pumps 19 and 43, mixers 7 and 35, thermal controls 21, 22, 45, 46, heatexchangers 23 and 24, ultraviolet sources 11, ultrasonic sources 9 and48, CO₂ vent 14, air sparge 37, and electrochemical cell 25;

h. controller receives component response and status from thecomponents;

i. controller sends digital commands to the sensors to access sensorinformation through sensor responses;

j. sensors in the MEO apparatus provide digital information on the stateof the various components;

k. sensors measure flow rate 59, temperature 61, pH 63, CO₂ venting 65,degree of oxidation 67, air sparge sensor 69, etc; and

l. controller 49 receives status information on the electrical potential(voltmeter 57) across the electrochemical cell or individual cells if amulti-cell configuration and between the anode(s) and referenceelectrodes internal to the cell(s) 25 and the current (ammeter 55)flowing between the electrodes within each cell.

-   20. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. preferred embodiment, MEO System Model 5.b is sized for use in asmall to mid-size application; other preferred embodiments havedifferences in the external configuration and size but are essentiallythe same in internal function and components as depicted in FIGS. 1B,1D, and 1E;

b. preferred embodiment in FIG. 3 comprises a housing 72 constructed ofmetal or high strength plastic surrounding the electrochemical cell 25,the electrolyte and the foraminous basket 3;

c. AC power is provided to the AC power supply 30 by the power cord 78;

d. monitor screen 51 is incorporated into the housing 72 for displayinginformation about the system and about the waste being treated;

e. control keyboard 53 is incorporated into the housing 72 for inputtinginformation into the system;

f. monitor screen 51 and the control keyboard 53 may be attached to thesystem without incorporating them into the housing 72;

g. system model 5.b has a control keyboard 53 for input of commands anddata;

h. monitor screen 51 to display the systems operation and functions;

i. status lights 73 for on, off and standby, are located above thekeyboard 53 and monitor screen 51;

j. in a preferred embodiment, status lights 73 are incorporated into thehousing 72 for displaying information about the status of the treatmentof the waste material;

k. air sparge 37 is incorporated into the housing 72 to allow air to beintroduced into the catholyte reaction chamber 31 below the surface ofthe catholyte;

l. a CO₂ vent 14 is incorporated into the housing 72 to allow for CO₂release from the anolyte reaction chamber housed within;

m. in a preferred embodiment, the housing includes means for cleaningout the MEO waste treatment system, including a flush(s) 18 and drain(s)12 through which the anolyte and catholyte will pass;

n. the preferred embodiment further comprises an atmospheric vent 47facilitating the releases of gases into the atmosphere from thecatholyte reaction chamber 31;

o. hinged lid 1 is opened and the solid waste is deposited in the basket3 in the chamber 5(b);

p. lid stop 2 keeps lid opening controlled; and

q. hinged lid 1 is equipped with a locking latch 76 that is operated bythe controller 49.

-   21. The apparatus of paragraph 10, wherein:

a. MEO apparatus is contained in the housing 72;

b. MEO system is started 81 by the operator engaging the ‘ON’ button 74on the control keyboard 53;

c. system controller 49, which contains a microprocessor, runs theprogram that controls the entire sequence of operations 82;

d. monitor screen 51 displays the steps of the process in the propersequence;

e. status lights 73 on the panel provide the status of the MEO apparatus(e.g. on, off, ready, standby);

f. lid 1 is opened and the waste is placed 83 in the anolyte reactionchamber 5(b) in basket 3 as a liquid, solid, or a mixture of liquids andsolids, whereupon the solid portion of the waste is retained and theliquid portion flows through the basket and into the anolyte;

g. locking latch 76 is activated after waste is placed in basket;

h. pumps 19 and 43 are activated which begins circulation 85 of theanolyte 87 and catholyte 89, respectively;

i. once the electrolyte circulation is established throughout thesystem, the mixers 7 and 35 begin to operate 91 and 93;

j. depending upon waste characteristics (e.g., reaction kinetics, heatof reaction, etc.) it may be desirable to introduce the waste into aroom temperature or cooler system with little or none of the mediatorredox couple in the oxidizer form;

k. once flow is established the thermal controls units 21, 22, 45, and46 are turned on 95/97, initiating predetermined anodic oxidation andelectrolyte heating programs;

l. the electrochemical cell 25 is energized 94 (by cell commands 56) tothe electric potential 57 and current 55 density determined by thecontroller program;

m. by using programmed electrical power and electrolyte temperatureramps it is possible to maintain a predetermined waste destruction rateprofile such as a relatively constant reaction rate as the more reactivewaste components are oxidized, thus resulting in the remaining wastebecoming less and less reactive, thereby requiring more and morevigorous oxidizing conditions;

n. the ultrasonic sources 9 and 48 and ultraviolet systems 11 areactivated 99 and 101 in the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a,b,c) andbuffer tank 20 and catholyte reaction chamber 31 if those options arechosen in the controller program;

o. CO₂ vent 14 is activated 103 to release CO₂ from the waste oxidationprocess in the anolyte reaction chambers 5(a,b,c) and buffer tank 20;

p. air sparge 37 and atmospheric vent 47 are activated 105 in thecatholyte system;

q. progress of the destruction process is monitored in the controller(oxidation sensor 67) by various cell voltages and currents 55, 57(e.g., open circuit, anode vs. reference electrode, ion specificelectrodes, etc,) as well as monitoring CO₂, CO, and O₂ gas 65composition for CO₂, CO and oxygen content;

r. waste is being decomposed into water and CO₂ the latter beingdischarged 103 out of the CO₂ vent 14;

s. air sparge 37 draws air 105 into the catholyte reservoir 31, andexcess air is discharged out the atmospheric vent 47 diluting hydrogenfor release into the atmosphere;

t. hydrogen output 38 is activated 105 and the hydrogen gas is releasedto a fuel cell or other hydrogen fuel consuming system;

u. when the oxidation sensor 67 determine the desired degree of wastedestruction has been obtained 107, the system goes to standby 109;

v. MEO apparatus as an option may be placed in a standby mode with wastebeing added as it is generated throughout the day and the unit placed infull activation during non-business hours; and

x. system operator executes system shutdown 111 using the controllerkeyboard 53.

TABLE I SIMPLE ANION REDOX COUPLES MEDIATORS SUB GROUP GROUP ELEMENTVALENCE SPECIES SPECIFIC REDOX COUPLES I A None B Copper (Cu) +2 Cu⁻²(cupric) +2 Species/+3, +4 Species HCuO₂ (bicuprite) +3 Species/+4Species CuO₂ ⁻² (cuprite) +3 Cu⁺³ CuO₂ ⁻ (cuprate) Cu₂O₃ (sesquioxide)+4 CuO₂ (peroxide) Silver (Ag) +1 Ag⁺ (argentous) +1 Species/+2, +3Species AgO⁻ (argentite) +2 Species/+3 Species +2 Ag⁻² (argentic) AgO(argentic oxide) +3 AgO⁺ (argentyl) Ag₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Gold (Au) +1 Au⁺(aurous) +1 Species/+3, +4 Species +3 Au⁺³ (auric) +3 Species/+4 SpeciesAuO⁻ (auryl) H₃AuO₃ ⁻ (auric acid) H₂AuO₃ ⁻ (monoauarate) HAuO₃ ⁻²(diaurate) AuO₃ ⁻³ (triaurate) Au₂O₃ (auric oxide) Au(OH)₃ (aurichydroxide) +4 AuO₂ (peroxide) II A Magnesium (Mg) +2 Mg⁺² (magnesic) +2Species/+4 Species +4 MgO₂ (peroxide) Calcium (Ca) +2 Ca⁺² +2 Species/+4Species +4 CaO₂ (peroxide) Strontium +2 Sr⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4SrO₂ (peroxide) Barium (Ba) +2 Ba⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 BaO₂(peroxide) II B Zinc (Zn) +2 Zn⁺² (zincic) +2 Species/+4 Species ZnOH¹(zincyl) HZnO₂ ⁻(bizincate) ZnO₂ ⁻² (zincate) +4 ZnO₂ (peroxide) Mercury(Hg) +2 Hg⁺² (mercuric) +2 Species/+4 Species Hg(OH)₂(mercurichydroxide) HHgO₂ ⁻ (mercurate) +4 HgO₂ (peroxide) III A Boron +3 H₃BO₃(orthoboric acid) +3 Species/+4.5, +5 Species H₂BO₃ ⁻, HBO₃ ⁻², BO₃ ⁻³(orthoborates) BO₂ ⁻ (metaborate) H₂B₄O₇ (tetraboric acid) HB₄O₇ ⁻/B₄O₇⁻² (tetraborates) B₂O₄ ⁻² (diborate) B₆O₁₀ ⁻² (hexaborate) +4.5 B₂O₅ ⁻(diborate) +5 BO₃ ⁻/BO₂ ⁻.H₂O (perborate) Thallium (Tl) +1 Tl⁺¹(thallous) +1 Species/+3 or +3.33 Species +3 Tl⁺³ (thallic) +3Species/+3.33 Species TlO⁺, TlOH⁺², Tl(OH)₂ ⁺ (thallyl) Tl₂O₃(sesquioxide) Tl(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +3.33 Tl₃O₅ (peroxide) B See RareEarths and Actinides IV A Carbon (C) +4 H₂CO₃(carbonic acid) +4Species/+5, +6 Species HCO₃ ⁻ (bicarbonate) CO₃ ⁻² (carbonate) +5 H₂C₂O₆(perdicarbonic acid) +6 H₂CO₄(permonocarbonic acid) Germanium (Ge) +4H₂GeO₃ (germanic acid) +4 Species/+6 Species HGeO₃ ⁻(bigermaniate) GeO₃⁻⁴ (germinate) Ge⁺⁴ (germanic) GeO₄ ⁻⁴ H₂Ge₂O₅ (digermanic acid) H₂Ge₄O₉(tetragermanic acid) H₂Ge₅O₁₁ (pentagermanic acid) HGe₅O₁₁⁻(bipentagermanate) +6 Ge₅O₁₁ ⁻² (pentagermanate) Tin (Sn) +4 Sn⁺⁴(stannic) +4 Species/+7 Species HSnO₃ ⁻ (bistannate) SnO₃ ⁻² (stannate)SnO₂ (stannic oxide) Sn(OH)₄ (stannic hydroxide) +7 SnO₄ ⁻ (perstannate)Lead (Pb) +2 Pb⁺² (plumbous) +2, +2.67, +3 Species/+4 Species HPbO₂⁻(biplumbite) PbOH⁺ PbO₂ ⁻² (plumbite) PbO (plumbus oxide) +2.67 Pb₃O₄(plumbo-plumbic oxide) +3 Pb₂O₃ (sequioxide) IV A Lead (Pb) +4 Pb⁺⁴(plumbic) +2, +2.67, +3 Species/+4 Species PbO₃ ⁻² (metaplumbate) HPbO₃⁻(acid metaplumbate) PbO₄ ⁻⁴ (orthoplumbate) PbO₂ (dioxide) B Titanium+4 TiO⁺² (pertitanyl) +4 Species/+6 Species HTiO₄ ⁻ titanate) TiO₂(dioxide) +6 TiO₂ ⁺² (pertitanyl) HTiO₄ ⁻ (acid pertitanate) TiO₄ ⁻²(pertitanate) TiO₃ (peroxide) Zirconium (Zr) +4 Zr⁺⁴ (zirconic) +4Species/+5, +6, +7 Species ZrO⁺² (zirconyl) HZrO₃ ⁻ (zirconate) +5 Zr₂O₅(pentoxide) +6 ZrO₃ (peroxide) +7 Zr₂O₇ (heptoxide) Hafnium (Hf) +4 Hf⁺⁴(hafnic) +4 Species/+6 Species HfO⁺² (hafnyl) +6 HfO₃ (peroxide) V ANitrogen +5 HNO₃ (nitric acid) +5 species/+7 Species NO₃ ⁻ (nitrate) +7HNO₄ (pernitric acid) Phosphorus (P) +5 H₃PO₄(orthophosphoric acid) +5Species/+6, +7 species H₂PO₄ ⁻ (monoorthophosphate) HPO₄ ⁻²(diorthophosphate) PO₄ ⁻³ (triorthophosphate) HPO₃ (metaphosphoric acid)H₄P₂O₇ (pryophosphoric acid) H₅P₃O₁₀ (triphosphoric acid) H₆P₄O₁₃(tetraphosphoric acid) +6 H₄P₂O₈ (perphosphoric acid) +5 Species/+6, +7Species +7 H₃PO₅ (monoperphosphoric acid) Arsenic (As) +5 H₃AsO₄(ortho-arsenic acid) +5 Species/+7 species H₂AsO₄ ⁻ (monoortho-arsenate) HAsO₄ ⁻² (di-ortho-arsenate) AsO₄ ⁻³(tri-ortho-arsenate) AsO₂ ⁺ (arsenyl) +7 AsO₃ ⁺ (perarsenyl) Bismuth(Bi) +3 Bi⁺³ (bismuthous) +3 Species/+3.5, +4, +5 Species BiOH⁺²(hydroxybismuthous) BiO⁺ (bismuthyl) BiO₂ ⁻ (metabismuthite) +3.5 Bi₄O₇(oxide) +4 Bi₂O₄ (tetroxide) +5 BiO₃ ⁻ (metabismuthite) Bi₂O₅(pentoxide) B Vanadium (V) +5 VO₂ ⁺ (vanadic) +5 Species/+7, +9 Species(See also POM H₃V₂O₇ ⁻ (pyrovanadate) Complex Anion H₂VO₄ ⁻(orthovanadate) Mediators) VO₃ ⁻ (metavanadate) HVO₄ ⁻² (orthovanadate)VO₄ ⁻³ (orthovanadate) V₂O₅ (pentoxide) H₄V₂O₇ (pyrovanadic acid) HVO₃(metavanadic acid) H₄V₆O₁₇ (hexavanadic acid) +7 VO₄ ⁻ (pervanadate) +9VO₅ ⁻ (hypervanadate) VI B Chromium +3 Cr⁺³ (chromic) +3 Species/+4, +6Species CrOH⁺², Cr(OH)₂ ⁺ (chromyls) +4 Species/+6 Species CrO₂ ⁻, CrO₃⁻³ (chromites) Cr₂O₃ (chromic oxide) Cr(OH)₃ (chromic hydroxide) +4 CrO₂(dioxide) Cr(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 H₂CrO₄ (chromic acid) HCrO₄ ⁻ (acidchromate) CrO₄ ⁻² (chromate) Cr₂O₇ ⁻² (dichromate) Molybdenum (Mo) +6HMoO₄ ⁻ (bimolybhate) +6 Species/+7 Species (See also POM MoO₄ ⁻²(molydbate) Complex Anion MoO₃ (molybdic trioxide) Mediators) H₂MoO₄(molybolic acid) +7 MoO₄ ⁻ (permolybdate) Tungsten (W) +6 WO₄ ⁻²tungstic) +6 Species/+8 Species (See also POM WO₃ (trioxide) ComplexAnion H₂WO₄ (tungstic acid) Mediators) +8 WO₅ ⁻² (pertungstic) H₂WO₅(pertungstic acid) VII A Chlorine (Cl) −1 Cl⁻ (chloride) −1 Species/+1,+3, +5, +7 Species +1 HClO (hypochlorous acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7Species ClO⁻ (hypochlorite) +3 Species/+5, +7 Species +3 HClO₂ (chlorousacid) +5 Species/+7 Species ClO₂ ⁻ (chlorite) +5 HClO₃ (chloric acid)ClO₃ ⁻ (chlorate) +7 HClO₄ (perchloric acid) ClO₄ ⁻, HClO₅ ⁻², ClO₅ ⁻³,Cl₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (perchlorates) V B Niobium (Nb) +5 NbO₃ ⁻ (metaniobate) +5Species/+7 species (See also POM NbO₄ ⁻³ (orthoniobate) Complex AnionNb₂O₅ (pentoxide) Mediators) HNbO₃ (niobid acid) +7 NbO₄ ⁻ (perniobate)Nb₂O₇ (perniobic oxide) HNbO₄ (perniobic acid) Tantalum (Ta) +5 TaO₃ ⁻(metatantalate) +5 species/+7 species (See also POM TaO₄ ⁻³(orthotanatalate) Complex Anion Ta₂O₅ (pentoxide) Mediators) HTaO₃(tantalic acid) +7 TaO₄ ⁻ (pentantalate) Ta₂O₇ (pertantalate) HTaO₄.H₂O(pertantalic acid) VI A Sulfur (S) +6 H₂SO₄ (sulfuric acid) +6Species/+7, +8 Species HSO₄ ⁻ (bisulfate) SO₄ ⁻² (sulfate) +7 S₂O₈ ⁻²(dipersulfate) +8 H₂SO₅ (momopersulfuric acid) Selenium (Se) +6 H₂Se₂O₄(selenic acid) +6 species/+7 Species HSeO₄ ⁻ (biselenate) SeO₄ ⁻²(selenate) +7 H₂Se₂O₈ (perdiselenic acid) Tellurium (Te) +6 H₂TeO₄(telluric acid) +6 species/+7 species HTeO₄ ⁻ (bitellurate) TeO₄ ⁻²(tellurate) +7 H₂Te₂O₈ (perditellenic acid) Polonium (Po) +2 Po⁺²(polonous) +2, +4 species/+6 Species +4 PoO₃ ⁻² (polonate) +6 PoO₃(peroxide) VII A Bromine (Br) −1 Br⁻ (bromide) −1 Species/+1, +3, +5, +7Species +1 HBrO (hypobromous acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7 Species BrO⁻(hypobromitee) +3 Species/+5, +7 Species +3 HBrO₂ (bromous acid) +5Species/+7 Species BrO2⁻ (bromite) +5 HBrO₃ (bromic acid) BrO₃ ⁻(bromate) +7 HBrO₄ (perbromic acid) BrO₄ ⁻, HBrO₅ ⁻², BrO₅ ⁻³, Br₂O₉ ⁻⁴(prebromates) Iodine −1 I⁻ (iodide) −1 Species/+1, +3, +5, +7 Species +1HIO (hypoiodus acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7 Species IO⁻ (hypoiodite) +3Species/+5, +7 Species +3 HIO₂ (iodous acid) +5 Species/+7 Species IO₂ ⁻(iodite) +5 HIO₃ (iodic acid) IO₃ ⁻ (iodate) +7 HIO₄ (periodic acid) IO₄⁻, HIO₅ ⁻², IO₅ ⁻³, I₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (periodates) B Manganese (Mn) +2 Mn⁺²(manganeous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6, +7 Species HMnO₂ ⁻ (dimanganite) +3Species/+4, +6, +7 Species +3 Mn⁺³ (manganic) +4 Species/+6, +7 Species+4 MnO₂ (dioxide) +6 Species/+7 Species +6 MnO₄ ⁻² (manganate) +7 MnO₄ ⁻(permanganate) VIII Period 4 Iron (Fe) +2 Fe⁺² (ferrous) +2 Species/+3,+4, +5, +6 Species HFeO₂ ⁻ (dihypoferrite) +3 Species/+4, +5, +6 Species+3 Fe⁺³, FeOH⁺², Fe(OH)₂ ⁺( ) +4 Species/+5, +6 Species FeO₂ ⁻ (ferrite)+5 Species/+6 Species +4 FeO⁺² (ferryl) FeO₂ ⁻² (perferrite) +5 FeO₂ ⁺(perferryl) +6 FeO₄ ⁻² (ferrate) Cobalt (Co) +2 Co⁺² (cobalous) +2Species/+3, +4 Species HCoO₂ ⁻ (dicobaltite) +3 Species/+4 Species +3Co⁺³ (cobaltic) Co₂O₃ (cobaltic oxide) +4 CoO₂ (peroxide) H₂CoO₃(cobaltic acid) Nickel (Ni) +2 Ni⁺² (nickelous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6Species NiOH⁺ +3 Species/+4, +6 Species HNiO₂ ⁻ (dinickelite) +4Species/+6 Species NiO₂ ⁻² (nickelite) +3 Ni⁺³ (nickelic) Ni₂O₃(nickelic oxide) +4 NiO₂ (peroxide) +6 NiO₄ ⁻² (nickelate) VIII Period 5Ruthenium (Ru) +2 Ru⁺² +2 Species/+3, +4, +5, +6, +7, +8 Species +3 Ru⁺³+3 Species/+4, +5, +6, +7, +8 Species Ru₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 Species/+5,+6, +7, +8 Species Ru(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +5 Species/+6, +7, +8 Species +4Ru⁺⁴ (ruthenic) +6 Species/+7, +8 Species RuO₂ (ruthenic dioxide) +7Species/+8 Species Ru(OH)₄ (ruthenic hydroxide) +5 Ru₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6RuO₄ ⁻² (ruthenate) RuO₂ ⁺² (ruthenyl) RuO₃ (trioxide) +7 RuO₄ ⁻(perruthenate) +8 H₂RuO₄ (hyperuthenic acid) HRuO₅ ⁻ (diperruthenate)RuO₄ (ruthenium tetroxide) Rhodium (Rh) +1 Rh⁺ (hyporhodous) +1Species/+2, +3, +4, +6 Species +2 Rh⁺² (rhodous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6Species +3 Rh⁺³ (rhodic) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species Rh₂O₃ (sesquioxide)+4 Species/+6 Species +4 RhO₂ (rhodic oxide) Rh(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 RhO₄⁻² (rhodate) RhO₃ (trioxide) Palladium +2 Pd⁺² (palladous) +2Species/+3, +4, +6 Species PdO₂ ⁻² (palladite) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species+3 Pd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species +4 PdO₃ ⁻² (palladate) PdO₂(dioxide) Pd(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 PdO₃ (peroxide) VIII Period 6 Iridium(Ir) +3 Ir⁺³ (iridic) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species Ir₂O₃ (iridiumsesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species Ir(OH)₃ (iridium hydroxide) +4 IrO₂(iridic oxide) Ir(OH)₄ (iridic hydroxide) +6 IrO₄ ⁻² (iridate) IrO₃(iridium peroxide) Platinum (Pt) +2 Pt⁺² (platinous) +2, +3 Species/+4,+6 Species +3 Pt₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species +4 PtO₃ ⁻²(palatinate) PtO⁺² (platinyl) Pt(OH)⁺³ PtO₂ (platonic oxide) IIIB Rareearths Cerium (Ce) +3 Ce⁺³ (cerous) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species Ce₂O₃(cerous oxide) +4 Species/+6 Species Ce(OH)₃ (cerous hydroxide) +4 Ce⁺⁴,Ce(OH)⁺³, Ce(OH)₂ ⁺², Ce(OH)₃ ⁺ (ceric) CeO₂ (ceric oxide) +6 CeO₃(peroxide) Praseodymium (Pr) +3 Pr⁺³ (praseodymous) +3 species/+4species Pr₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Pr(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +4 Pr⁺⁴ (praseodymic)PrO₂ (dioxide) Neodymium +3 Nd⁺³ +3 Species/+4 Species Nd₂O₃(sesquioxide) +4 NdO₂ (peroxide) Terbium (Tb) +3 Tb⁺³ +3 Species/+4Species Tb₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 TbO₂ (peroxide) IIIB Actinides Thorium(Th) +4 Th⁺⁴ (thoric) +4 Species/+6 Species ThO⁺² (thoryl) HThO₃ ⁻(thorate) +6 ThO₃ (acid peroxide) Uranium (U) +6 UO₂ ⁺² (uranyl) +6Species/+8 Species UO₃ (uranic oxide) +8 HUO₅ ⁻, UO₅ ⁻² (peruranates)UO₄(peroxide) Neptunium (Np) +5 NpO₂ ⁺ (hyponeptunyl) +5 Species/+6, +8Species Np₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 Species/+8 Species +6 NpO₂ ⁺² (neptunyl)NpO₃ (trioxide) +8 NpO₄ (peroxide) Plutonium (Pu) +3 Pu⁺³(hypoplutonous) +3 Species/+4, +5, +6 Species +4 Pu⁺⁴ (plutonous) +4Species/+5, +6 Species PuO₂ (dioxide) +5 Species/+6 Species +5 PuO₂ ⁺(hypoplutonyl) Pu₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 PuO₂ ⁺² (plutonyl) PuO₃ (peroxide)Americium (Am) +3 Am⁺³ (hypoamericious) +4 Am⁺⁴ (americous) AmO₂(dioxide) Am(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +5 AmO₂ ⁺ (hypoamericyl) Am₂O₅ (pentoxide)+6 AmO₂ ⁺² (americyl) AmO₃ (peroxide)

TABLE II ELEMENTS PARTICIPATING AS HETEROATOMS IN HETEROPOLYANIONCOMPLEX ANION REDOX COUPLE MEDIATORS GROUP SUB GROUP ELEMENT I A Lithium(Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), and Cesium (Cs) B Copper (Cu), Silver(Ag), and Gold (Au) II A Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca),Strontium (Sr), and Barium (Ba) B Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), and Mercury(Hg) III A Boron (B), and Aluminum (Al) B Scandium (Sc), and Yttrium(Y) - (See Rare Earths) IV A Carbon (C), Silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge),Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) B Titanium (Ti), Zirconium (Zr), and Hafnium (Hf)V A Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb), andBismuth (Bi) B Vanadium (V), Niobium (Nb), and Tantalum (Ta) VI A Sulfur(S), Selenium (Se), and Tellurium (Te) B Chromium (Cr), Molybdenum (Mo),and Tungsten (W) VII A Fluorine (F), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), andIodine (I) B Manganese (Mn), Technetium (Tc), and Rhenium (Re) VIIIPeriod 4 Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel (Ni) Period 5 Ruthenium(Ru), Rhodium (Rh), and Palladium (Pd) Period 6 Osmium (Os), Iridium(Ir), and Platinum (Pt) IIIB Rare Earths All

1. A process for and the use of the mediated electrochemical oxidation(MEO) process on biological and organic waste materials to producehydrogen and oxygen comprising disposing an electrolyte in anelectrochemical cell, separating the electrolyte into an anolyte portionhaving an anode and a catholyte portion having a cathode with a hydrogenion-selective membrane, applying a direct current voltage between theanolyte portion and the catholyte portion, placing biological andorganic waste in the anolyte portion, oxidizing waste materials insolution in the anolyte, and biological and organic waste in the anolyteportion with a mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process, whereinthe anolyte portion further comprises a mediator in aqueous solution andthe electrolyte is an acid, neutral or alkaline aqueous solution,wherein hydrogen ions are generated from the waste materials in theanolyte portion, and current is carried by the hydrogen ions from theanode to the cathode in the electrochemical cell, wherein hydrogen gasevolves from the hydrogen ions at the cathode, and the hydrogen is usedin a further device for producing energy.
 2. The process of claim 1,wherein the mediator is selected from the group of mediators describedin Table I TABLE I Simple Anion Redox Couples Mediators SPECIFIC SUBREDOX GROUP GROUP ELEMENT VALENCE SPECIES COUPLES I A None B Copper +2Cu⁻² (cupric) +2 Species/+3, +4 Species; (Cu) HCuO₂ (bicuprite) +3Species/+4 Species CuO₂ ⁻² (cuprite) +3 Cu⁺³ CuO₂ ⁻ (cuprate) Cu₂O₃(sesquioxide) +4 CuO₂ (peroxide) Silver +1 Ag⁺ (argentous) +1Species/+2, +3 Species; (Ag) AgO⁻ (argentite) +2 Species/+3 Species +2Ag⁻² (argentic) AgO (argentic oxide) +3 AgO⁺ (argentyl) Ag₂O₃(sesquioxide) Gold (Au) +1 Au⁺ (aurous) +1 Species/+3, +4 Species; +3Au⁺³ (auric) +3 Species/+4 Species AuO⁻ (auryl) H₃AuO₃ (auric acid)H₂AuO₃ ⁻ (monoauarate) HAuO₃ ⁻² (diaurate) AuO₃ ⁻³ (triaurate) Au₂O₃(auric oxide) Au(OH)₃ (auric hydroxide) +4 AuO₂ (peroxide) II AMagnesium (Mg) +2 Mg⁺² (magnesic) +2 Species/+4 Species +4 MgO₂(peroxide) Calcium (Ca) +2 Ca⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 CaO₂ (peroxide)Strontium +2 Sr⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 SrO₂ (peroxide) Barium (Ba)+2 Ba⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 BaO₂ (peroxide) B Zinc (Zn) +2 Zn⁺²(zincic) +2 Species/+4 Species ZnOH⁺ (zincyl) HZnO₂ ⁻ (bizincate) ZnO₂⁻² (zincate) +4 ZnO₂ (peroxide) Mercury (Hg) +2 Hg⁺² (mercuric) +2Species/+4 Species Hg (OH)₂ (mercuric hydroxide) HHgO₂ ⁻ (mercurate) +4HgO₂ (peroxide) III A Boron +3 H₃BO₃ (orthoboric acid) +3 Species/ H₂BO₃⁻, HBO₃ ⁻², BO₃ ⁻³ +4.5, +5 Species (orthoborates) BO₂ ⁻ (metaborate)H₂B₄O₇ (tetraboric acid) HB₄O₇ ⁻/B₄O₇ ⁻² (tetraborates) B₂O₄ ⁻²(diborate) B₆O₁₀ ⁻² (hexaborate) +4.5 B₂O₅ ⁻ (diborate) +5 BO₃ ⁻/BO₂⁻•H₂O (perborate) Thallium (Tl) +1 Tl⁺¹ (thallous) +1 Species/ +3 Tl⁺³(thallic) +3 or +3.33 Species; TlO⁺, TlOH⁺², +3 Species/+3.33 SpeciesTl(OH)₂ ⁺ (thallyl) Tl₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Tl(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +3.33 Tl₃O₅(peroxide) B See Rare Earths and Actinides IV A Carbon (C) +4 H₂CO₃(carbonic acid) +4 Species/ HCO₃ ⁻ (bicarbonate) +5, +6 Species CO₃ ⁻²(carbonate) +5 H₂C₂O₆ (perdicarbonic acid) +6 H₂CO₄ (permonocarbonicacid) Germanium (Ge) +4 H₂GeO₃ (germanic acid) +4 Species/+6 SpeciesHGeO₃ ⁻ (bigermaniate) GeO₃ ⁻⁴ (germinate) Ge⁺⁴ (germanic) GeO₄ ⁻⁴H₂Ge₂O₅ (digermanic acid) H₂Ge₄O₉ (tetragermanic acid) H₂Ge₅O₁₁(pentagermanic acid) HGe₅O₁₁ ⁻ (bipentagermanate) +6 Ge₅O₁₁ ⁻²(pentagermanate) Tin (Sn) +4 Sn⁺⁴ (stannic) +4 Species/+7 Species HSnO₃⁻ (bistannate) SnO₃ ⁻² (stannate) SnO₂ (stannic oxide) Sn(OH)₄ (stannichydroxide) +7 SnO₄ ⁻ (perstannate) Lead (Pb) +2 Pb⁺² (plumbous) +2,+2.67, +3 Species/ HPbO₂ ⁻ (biplumbite) +4 Species PbOH⁺ PbO₂ ⁻²(plumbite) PbO (plumbus oxide) +2.67 Pb₃O₄ (plumbo-plumbic oxide) +3Pb₂O₃ (sequioxide) +4 Pb⁺⁴ (plumbic) +2, +2.67, +3 Species/ PbO₃ ⁻²(metaplumbate) +4 Species HPbO₃ ⁻ (acid metaplumbate) PbO₄ ⁻⁴(orthoplumbate) PbO₂ (dioxide) B Titanium +4 TiO⁺² (pertitanyl) +4Species/ HTiO₄ ⁻ titanate) +6 Species TiO₂ (dioxide) +6 TiO₂ ⁺²(pertitanyl) HTiO₄ ⁻ (acid pertitanate) TiO₄ ⁻² (pertitanate) TiO₃(peroxide) Zirconium (Zr) +4 Zr⁺⁴ (zirconic) +4 Species/ ZrO⁺²(zirconyl) +5, +6, +7 Species HZrO₃ ⁻ (zirconate) +5 Zr₂O₅ (pentoxide)+6 ZrO₃ (peroxide) +7 Zr₂ O₇ (heptoxide) Hafnium (Hf) +4 Hf⁺⁴ (hafnic)+4 Species/ HfO⁺² (hafnyl) +6 Species +6 HfO₃ (peroxide) V A Nitrogen +5HNO₃ (nitric acid) +5 species/ NO₃ ⁻ (nitrate) +7 Species +7 HNO₄(pernitric acid) Phosphorus (P) +5 H₃PO₄ (orthophosphoric +5 Species/acid) +6, +7 species H₂PO₄ ⁻ (monoorthophosphate) HPO₄ ⁻²(diorthophosphate) PO₄ ⁻³ (triorthophosphate) HPO₃ (metaphosphoric acid)H₄P₂O₇ (pryophosphoric acid) H₅P₃O₁₀ (triphosphoric acid) H₆P₄O₁₃(tetraphosphoric acid) +6 H₄P₂O₈ (perphosphoric +5 Species/ acid) +6, +7Species +7 H₃PO₅ (monoperphosphoric acid) Arsenic (As) +5 H₃AsO₄(ortho-arsenic +5 Species/ acid) +7 species H₂AsO₄ ⁻ (monoortho-arsenate) HAsO₄ ⁻² (di-ortho-arsenate) AsO₄ ⁻³(tri-ortho-arsenate) AsO₂ ⁺ (arsenyl) +7 AsO₃ ⁺ (perarsenyl) Bismuth(Bi) +3 Bi⁺³ (bismuthous) +3 Species/ BiOH⁺² +3.5, +4, +5 Species(hydroxybismuthous) BiO⁺ (bismuthyl) BiO₂ ⁻ (metabismuthite) +3.5 Bi₄O₇(oxide) +4 Bi₂O₄ (tetroxide) +5 BiO₃ ⁻ (metabismuthite) Bi₂O₅(pentoxide) B Vanadium (V) +5 VO₂ ⁺ (vanadic) +5 Species/ (See also POMH₃V₂O₇ ⁻ (pyrovanadate) +7, +9 Species Complex Anion H₂VO₄ ⁻(orthovanadate) Mediators) VO₃ ⁻ (metavanadate) HVO₄ ⁻² (orthovanadate)VO₄ ⁻³ (orthovanadate) V₂O₅ (pentoxide) H₄V₂O₇ (pyrovanadic acid) HVO₃(metavanadic acid) H₄V₆O₁₇ (hexavanadic acid) +7 VO₄ ⁻ (pervanadate) +9VO₅ ⁻ (hypervanadate) Niobium (Nb) +5 NbO₃ ⁻ (metaniobate) +5 Species/(See also POM NbO₄ ⁻³ (orthoniobate) +7 species Complex Anion Nb₂O₅(pentoxide) Mediators) HNbO₃ (niobid acid) +7 NbO₄ ⁻ (perniobate) Nb₂O₇(perniobic oxide) HNbO₄ (perniobic acid) Tantalum (Ta) +5 TaO₃ ⁻(metatantalate) +5 species/ (See also POM TaO₄ ⁻³ (orthotanatalate) +7species Complex Anion Ta₂O₅ (pentoxide) Mediators) HTaO₃ (tantalic acid)+7 TaO₄ ⁻ (pentantalate) Ta₂O₇ (pertantalate) HTaO₄•H₂O (pertantalicacid) VI A Sulfur (S) +6 H₂SO₄ (sulfuric acid) +6 Species/ HSO₄ ⁻(bisulfate) +7, +8 Species SO₄ ⁻² (sulfate) +7 S₂O₈ ⁻² (dipersulfate) +8H₂SO₅ (momopersulfuric acid) Selenium (Se) +6 H₂Se₂O₄ (selenic acid) +6species/ HSeO₄ ⁻ (biselenate) +7 Species SeO₄ ⁻² (selenate) +7 H₂Se₂O₈(perdiselenic acid) Tellurium (Te) +6 H₂TeO₄ (telluric acid) +6 species/HTeO₄ ⁻ (bitellurate) +7 species TeO₄ ⁻² (tellurate) +7 H₂Te₂O₈(perditellenic acid) Polonium (Po) +2 Po⁺² (polonous) +2, +4 species/ +4PoO₃ ⁻² (polonate) +6 Species +6 PoO₃ (peroxide) B Chromium +3 Cr⁺³(chromic) +3 Species/ CrOH⁺², Cr(OH)₂ ⁺ +4, +6 Species; (chromyls) +4Species/ CrO₂ ⁻, CrO₃ ⁻³ +6 Species (chromites) Cr₂O₃ (chromic oxide)Cr(OH)₃ (chromic hydroxide) +4 CrO₂ (dioxide) Cr(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6H₂CrO₄ (chromic acid) HCrO₄ ⁻ (acid chromate) CrO₄ ⁻² (chromate) Cr₂O₇⁻² (dichromate) Molybdenum +6 HMoO₄ ⁻ (bimolybhate) +6 Species/ (Mo)MoO₄ ⁻⁴ (molydbate) +7 Species (See also POM MoO₃ (molybdic trioxide)Complex Anion H₂MoO₄ (molybolic acid) Mediators) +7 MoO₄ ⁻(permolybdate) Tungsten (W) +6 WO₄ ⁻² tungstic) +6 Species/ (See alsoPOM WO₃ (trioxide) +8 Species Complex Anion H₂WO₄ (tungstic acid)Mediators) +8 WO₅ ⁻² (pertungstic) H₂WO₅ (pertungstic acid) VII AChlorine (Cl) +1 HClO +1 Species/ (hypochlorous acid) +3, +5, +7Species; ClO⁻ (hypochlorite) +3 Species/ +3 HClO₂ (chlorous acid) +5, +7Species; ClO₂ ⁻ (chlorite) +5 Species/ +5 HClO₃ (chloric acid) +7Species ClO₃ ⁻ (chlorate) +7 HClO₄ (perchloric acid) ClO₄ ⁻, HClO₅ ⁻²,ClO₅ ⁻³, Cl₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (perchlorates) Bromine (Br) +1 HBrO +1 Species/(hypobromous acid) +3, +5, +7 Species; BrO⁻ (hypobromitee) +3 Species/+3 HBrO₂ (bromous acid) +5, +7 Species; BrO₂ ⁻ (bromite) +5 Species/ +5HBrO₃ (bromic acid) +7 Species BrO₃ ⁻ (bromate) +7 HBrO₄ (perbromicacid) BrO₄ ⁻, HBrO₅ ⁻², BrO₅ ⁻⁴, Br₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (prebromates) Iodine +1 HIO(hypoiodus acid) +1 Species/ IO⁻ (hypoiodite) +3, +5, +7 Species; +3HIO₂ (iodous acid) +3 Species/ IO₂ ⁻ (iodite) +5, +7 Species; +5 HIO₃(iodic acid) +5 Species/ IO₃ ⁻ (iodate) +7 Species +7 HTO₄ (periodicacid) IO₄ ⁻, HIO₅ ⁻², IO₅ ⁻³, I₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (periodates) B Manganese (Mn) +2Mn⁺² (manganeous) +2 Species/ HMnO₂ ⁻ (dimanganite) +3, +4, +6, +7Species; +3 Mn⁺³ (manganic) +3 Species/ +4 MnO₂ (dioxide) +4, +6, +7Species; +6 MnO₄ ⁻² (manganate) +4 Species/ +7 MnO₄ ⁻ (permanganate) +6,+7 Species; +6 Species/ +7 Species VIII Period 4 Iron (Fe) +3 Fe⁺³(ferric) +3 Species/ Fe(OH)⁺² +4, +5, +6 Species; Fe(OH)₂ ⁺ +4 Species/FeO₂ ⁻² (ferrite) +5, +6 Species; +4 FeO⁺² (ferryl) +5 Species/ FeO₂ ⁻²(perferrite) +6 Species +5 FeO₂ ⁺ (perferryl) +6 FeO₄ ⁻² (ferrate)Cobalt (Co) +2 Co⁺² (cobalous) +2 Species/ HCoO₂ ⁻ (dicobaltite) +3, +4Species; +3 Co⁺³ (cobaltic) +3 Species/ Co₂O₃ (cobaltic oxide) +4Species +4 CoO₂ (peroxide) H₂CoO₃ (cobaltic acid) Nickel (Ni) +2 Ni⁺²(nickelous) +2 Species/ NiOH⁺ +3, +4, +6 Species; HNiO₂ ⁻ (dinickelite)+3 Species/ NiO₂ ⁻² (nickelite) +4, +6 Species; +3 Ni⁺³ (nickelic) +4Species/+6 Species; Ni₂O₃ (nickelic oxide) +4 NiO₂ (peroxide) +6 NiO₄ ⁻²(nickelate) Period 5 Ruthenium (Ru) +2 Ru⁺² +2 Species/ +3 Ru⁺³ +3, +4,+5, Ru₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +6, +7, +8 Species; Ru(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +3Species/ +4 Ru⁺⁴ (ruthenic) +4, +5, +6, +7, +8 Species; RuO₂ (ruthenicdioxide) +4 Species/ Ru(OH)₄ +5, +6, +7, +8 Species; (ruthenichydroxide) +5 Species/ +5 Ru₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6, +7, +8 Species; +6 RuO₄⁺² (ruthenate) +6 Species/ RuO₂ ⁺² (ruthenyl) +7, +8 Species; RuO₃(trioxide) +7 Species/+8 Species +7 RuO₄ ⁻ (perruthenate) +8 H₂RuO₄(hyperuthenic acid) HRuO₅ ⁻ (diperruthenate) RuO₄ (ruthenium tetroxide)Rhodium (Rh) +1 Rh⁺ (hyporhodous) +1 Species/+2, +2 Rh⁺² (rhodous) +3,+4, +6 Species; +3 Rh⁺³ (rhodic) +2 Species/ Rh₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +3, +4,+6 Species; +4 RhO₂ (rhodic oxide) +3 Species/ Rh(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +4,+6 Species; +6 RhO₄ ⁻² (rhodate) +4 Species/ RhO₃ (trioxide) +6 SpeciesPalladium +2 Pd⁺² (palladous) +2 Species/ PdO₂ ⁻² (palladite) +3, +4, +6Species; +3 Pd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +3 Species/ +4 Pd O₃ ⁻² (palladate) +4,+6 Species; PdO₂ (dioxide) +4 Species/ Pd(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 Species +6PdO₃ (peroxide) Period 6 Iridium (Ir) +3 Ir⁻³ (iridic) +3 Species/ Ir₂O₃(iridium +4, +6 Species; sesquioxide) +4 Species/ Ir (OH)₃ (iridium +6Species hydroxide) +4 IrO₂ (iridic oxide) Ir (OH)₄ (iridic hydroxide) +6IrO₄ ⁻² (iridate) IrO₃ (iridium peroxide) Platinum (Pt) +2 Pt⁺²(platinous) +2, +3 Species/ +3 Pt₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4, +6 Species; +4PtO₃ ⁻² (palatinate) +4 Species/ PtO⁺² (platinyl) +6 Species Pt(OH)⁺³PtO₂ (platonic oxide) +6 PtO₄ ⁻² (Perplatinate) PtO₃ (perplatinic oxide)IIIB Rare Cerium (Ce) +3 Ce⁺³ (cerous) +3 Species/ earths Ce₂O₃ (cerousoxide) +4, +6 Species; Ce(OH)₃ (cerous hydroxide) +4 Species/ +4 Ce⁺⁴,Ce(OH)⁺³, +6 Species Ce(OH)₂ ⁺², Ce(OH)₃ ⁺ (ceric) CeO₂ (ceric oxide) +6CeO₃ (peroxide) Praseodymium +3 Pr⁺³ (praseodymous) +3 species/ (Pr)Pr₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 species Pr(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +4 Pr⁺⁴ (praseodymic)PrO₂ (dioxide) Neodymium +3 Nd⁺³ +3 Species/ Nd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4Species +4 NdO₂ (peroxide) Terbium (Tb) +3 Tb⁺³ +3 Species/ Tb₂O₃(sesquioxide) +4 Species +4 TbO₂ (peroxide) Actinides Thorium (Th) +4Th⁺⁴ (thoric) +4 Species/ ThO⁺² (thoryl) +6 Species HThO₃ ⁻ (thorate) +6ThO₃ (acid peroxide) Uranium (U) +6 UO₂ ⁺² (uranyl) +6 Species/ UO₃(uranic oxide) +8 Species +8 HUO₅ ⁻, UO₅ ⁻² (peruranates) UO₄ (peroxide)Neptunium (Np) +5 NpO₂ ⁺ (hyponeptunyl) +5 Species/ Np₂O₅ (pentoxide)+6, +8 Species; +6 NpO₂ ⁺² (neptunyl) +6 Species/ NpO₃ (trioxide) +8Species +8 NpO₄ (peroxide) Plutonium (Pu) +3 Pu⁺³ (hypoplutonous) +3Species/ +4 Pu⁺⁶ (plutonous) +4, +5, +6 Species; PuO₂ (dioxide) +4Species/ +5 PuO₂ ⁺ (hypoplutonyl) +5, +6 Species; Pu₂O₅ (pentoxide) +5Species/ +6 PuO₂ ⁺² (plutonyl) +6 Species PuO₃ (peroxide) Americium (Am)+3 Am⁺³ (hypoamericious) +3 Species/ +4 Am⁺⁴ (americous) +4, +5, +6Species; AmO₂ (dioxide) +4 Species/ Am(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +5, +6 Species;+5 AmO₂ ⁺ (hypoamericyl) +5 Species/ Am₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 Species +6AmO₂ ⁺² (americyl) AmO₃ (peroxide)


3. The process of claim 2, wherein the oxidizing species are selectedfrom one or more of a group of Type I complex anion redox coupleisopolyanion mediators containing tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium,niobium, tantalum, or combinations thereof as addenda atoms in aqueoussolution.
 4. The process of claim 2, wherein the oxidizing species areselected from one or more of a group of Type I heteropolyanions formedby incorporation into Type I isopolyanions, as heteroatoms, any of theelements listed in Table II, either singly or in combination thereof inthe aqueous solution. TABLE II Elements Participating as Heteroatoms inHeteropolyanion Complex Anion Redox Couple Mediators SUB GROUP GROUPELEMENT I A Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), and Cesium (Cs) BCopper (Cu), Silver (Ag), and Gold (Au) II A Beryllium (Be), Magnesium(Mg), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), and Barium (Ba) B Zinc (Zn), Cadmium(Cd), and Mercury (Hg) III A Boron (B), and Aluminum (Al) B Scandium(Sc), and Yttrium (Y) - (See Rare Earths) IV A Carbon (C), Silicon (Si),Germanium (Ge), Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) B Titanium (Ti), Zirconium (Zr),and Hafnium (Hf) V A Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Arsenic (As),Antimony (Sb), and Bismuth (Bi) B Vanadium (V), Niobium (Nb), andTantalum (Ta) VI A Sulfur (S), Selenium (Se), and Tellurium (Te) BChromium (Cr), Molybdenum (Mo), and Tungsten (W) VII A Fluorine (F),Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), and Iodine (I) B Manganese (Mn), Technetium(Tc), and Rhenium (Re) VIII Period Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel(Ni) 4 Period Ruthenium (Ru), Rhodium (Rh), and Palladium (Pd) 5 PeriodOsmium (Os), Iridium (Ir), and Platinum (Pt) 6 IIIB Rare All Earths.


5. The process of claim 4, wherein the oxidizing species are selectedfrom one or more of a group of heteropolyanions containing at least oneheteroatom type element contained in both Table I and Table II in theaqueous solution.
 6. The process of claim 4, wherein the oxidizingspecies are selected from a group of combinations of anion redox couplemediators described in Tables I and II, and wherein reduced forms of theredox couples are reoxidized in the anolyte portion within theelectrochemical cell.
 7. The process of claim 4, wherein the mediator issimple anions described in Table I, Type I isopolyanions containingtungsten, molybdenum, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, or combinationsthereof as addenda atoms; Type I heteropolyanions formed byincorporation into the aforementioned isopolyanions, as heteroatoms, anyof the elements listed in Table II, either singly or in combinationsthereof; or any heteropolyanions containing at least one heteroatom typecontained in both Table I and Table II.
 8. The process of claim 2,wherein the oxidizing species are identified in Table I, and whereineach of the species has normal valence states and higher valenceoxidizing states and further comprising creating the higher valenceoxidizing states of the oxidizing species by stripping electrons fromnormal valence state species in the electrochemical cell.
 9. The processof claim 1, further comprising introducing catalyst additives to theelectrolyte and thereby contributing to kinetics of the mediatedelectrochemical processes while keeping the additives from becomingdirectly involved in the oxidizing biological and organic wastematerials.
 10. The process of claim 1, further comprising addingstabilizing compounds to the electrolyte for overcoming and stabilizingthe short lifetime of oxidized forms of higher oxidation state speciesof the mediator.
 11. The process of claim 1, wherein the oxidizingspecies are super oxidizers which exhibit oxidation potentials of atleast 1.7 volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH1 and which are redox couplespecies that have the capability of producing free radicals of hydroxylor perhydroxyl, and further comprising creating free radical secondaryoxidizers by reacting the super oxidizers with water.
 12. The process ofclaim 1, further comprising using an alkaline solution, aidingdecomposing of the biological materials derived from base promoted esterhydrolysis, saponification, of fatty acids, and forming water solublealkali metal salts of the fatty acids and glycerin in a process similarto the production of soap from animal fat by introducing it into a hotaqueous lye solution.
 13. The process of claim 1, further comprisingusing an alkaline anolyte solution for absorbing CO₂ from the oxidizingof biological and organic waste materials and formingbicarbonate/carbonate solutions, which subsequently circulate throughthe electrochemical cell, producing percarbonate oxidizers.
 14. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the oxidizing agents are super oxidizers,and further comprising generating inorganic free radicals in aqueoussolutions from carbonate, azide, nitrite, nitrate, phosphite, phosphate,sulfite, sulfate, selenite, thiocyanate, chloride, bromide, iodide, andformate oxidizing species.
 15. The process of claim 1, wherein themembrane is microporous plastic, ion-selective, porous ceramic orsintered glass frit.
 16. The process of claim 1, further comprisingimpressing an AC voltage upon the direct current voltage for retardingformation of cell performance limiting surface films on the electrode.17. The process of claim 1, further comprising disposing a foraminousbasket in the anolyte and holding the materials in the basket.
 18. Theprocess of claim 1, further comprising adjusting temperature between 01C and temperature of the anolyte portion before it enters theelectrochemical cell for enhancing generation of oxidized forms of themediator, and adjusting the temperature between 01 C and below theboiling temperature of the anolyte portion entering the anolyte reactionchamber affecting desired chemical reactions at desired rates.
 19. Theprocess of claim 1, further comprising introducing an ultrasonic energyinto the anolyte portion, rupturing cell membranes in the biologicalmaterials by momentarily raising local temperature within the cellmembranes with the ultrasonic energy to above several thousand degrees,and causing cell membrane failure.
 20. The process of claim 1, furthercomprising the evolving of oxygen from the anode is feed to a hydrogenfuel apparatus to increase the percentage oxygen available from theambient air.
 21. The process of claim 1, further comprising introducingultraviolet energy into the anolyte portion and decomposing hydrogenperoxide into hydroxyl free radicals therein, thereby increasingefficiency of the process by converting products of electron consumingparasitic reactions, ozone and hydrogen peroxide, into viable freeradical secondary oxidizers without consumption of additional electrons.22. The process of claim 1, further comprising adding a surfactant tothe anolyte portion for promoting dispersion of the materials orintermediate stage reaction products within the aqueous solution whenthe materials or reaction products are not water-soluble and tend toform immiscible layers.
 23. The process of claim 1, further comprisingattacking specific organic molecules with the oxidizing species whileoperating at low temperatures and preventing formation of dioxins andfurans.
 24. The process of claim 1, further comprising breaking down thebiological and organic waste materials into biological and organiccompounds and attacking these compounds using as the mediator simpleand/or complex anion redox couple mediators or inorganic free radicalsand generating organic free radicals.
 25. The process of claim 1,further comprising raising normal valence state mediator anions to ahigher valence state by stripping the mediator anions of electrons inthe electrochemical cell, wherein oxidized forms of weaker redox couplespresent in the mediator are produced by similar anodic oxidation orreaction with oxidized forms of stronger redox couples present and theoxidized species of the redox couples oxidize molecules of the materialsand are themselves converted to their reduced form, whereupon they areoxidized by the aforementioned mechanisms and the redox cycle continues.26. A process for treating and oxidizing biological and organic wastematerials comprising producing hydrogen ions and oxygen from the wastegas, circulating anions of mediator oxidizing species in an electrolytethrough an electrochemical cell, separating the electrolyte into ananolyte portion having an anode and a catholyte portion having acathode, with a hydrogen ion-selective membrane, applying a directcurrent voltage between the anode and the cathode portion, and carryingcurrent with the hydrogen ions from the anolyte portion to the cathode,and affecting anodic oxidation of reduced forms of reversible redoxcouples into oxidized forms, contacting the anions with the organicwaste in an anolyte portion of the electrolyte in a primary oxidationprocess, involving super oxidizer anions, having an oxidation potentialabove a threshold value of 1.7 volts at 1 molar, 25° C. and pH1 whereinwhen the said superoxidizers are present there is a free radicaloxidizer driven secondary oxidation process, adding energy from anenergy source to the anolyte portion and augmenting the secondaryoxidation processes, breaking down hydrogen peroxide in the anolyteportion into hydroxyl free radicals, and increasing an oxidizing effectof the secondary oxidation processes, wherein the current is carried bythe hydrogen ions from anode to the cathode in the electrochemical cell,wherein hydrogen gas is formed from the hydrogen ions at the cathode andthe hydrogen gas is used in a further device for producing energy. 27.The process of claim 26, wherein the adding energy comprises irradiatingthe anolyte portion with ultraviolet energy.
 28. The process of claim26, wherein the adding energy comprises introducing an ultrasonic energysource into the anolyte portion, irradiating cell membranes in theorganic waste, momentarily raising local temperature within the cellmembranes, causing cell membrane failure, and creating greater exposureof cell contents to oxidizing species in the anolyte portion.
 29. Theprocess of claim 26, wherein the mediator oxidizing species are simpleanions redox couple mediators described in Table I; Type I isopolyanionsformed by Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, or mixtures thereof; Type I heteropolyanionsformed by incorporation into the isopolyanions if any of the elementslisted in Table II (heteroatoms) either singly or in thereof, orheteropolyanions containing at least one heteroatom type elementcontained in both Table I and Table II or combinations of the mediatoroxidizing species from any or all of these generic groups TABLE I SimpleAnion Redox Couples Mediators SUB GROUP GROUP ELEMENT VALENCE SPECIESSPECIFIC REDOX COUPLES I A None B Copper (Cu) +2 Cu⁻² (cupric) +2Species/+3, +4 Species; HCuO₂ (bicuprite) +3 Species/+4 Species CuO₂ ⁻²(cuprite) +3 Cu⁺³ CuO₂ ⁻ (cuprate) Cu₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 CuO₂(peroxide) Silver (Ag) +1 Ag⁺ (argentous) +1 Species/+2, +3 Species;AgO⁻ (argentite) +2 Species/+3 Species +2 Ag⁻² (argentic) AgO (argenticoxide) +3 AgO⁺ (argentyl) Ag₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Gold (Au) +1 Au⁺ (aurous)+1 Species/+3, +4 Species; +3 Au⁺³ (auric) +3 Species/+4 Species AuO⁻(auryl) H₃AuO₃ ⁻ (auric acid) H₂AuO₃ ⁻ (monoauarate) HAuO₃ ⁻² (diaurate)AuO₃ ⁻³ (triaurate) Au₂O₃ (auric oxide) Au(OH)₃ (auric hydroxide) +4AuO₂ (peroxide) II A Magnesium (Mg) +2 Mg⁺² (magnesic) +2 Species/+4Species +4 MgO₂ (peroxide) Calcium (Ca) +2 Ca⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4CaO₂ (peroxide) Strontium +2 Sr⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 SrO₂(peroxide) Barium (Ba) +2 Ba⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 BaO₂ (peroxide)B Zinc (Zn) +2 Zn⁺² (zincic) +2 Species/+4 Species ZnOH¹ (zincyl) HZnO₂⁻(bizincate) ZnO₂ ⁻² (zincate) +4 ZnO₂ (peroxide) Mercury (Hg) +2 Hg⁺²(mercuric) +2 Species/+4 Species Hg(OH)₂(mercuric hydroxide) HHgO₂ ⁻(mercurate) +4 HgO₂ (peroxide) III A Boron +3 H₃BO₃ (orthoboric acid) +3Species/+4.5, +5 Species H₂BO₃ ⁻, HBO₃ ⁻², BO₃ ⁻³ (orthoborates) BO₂ ⁻(metaborate) H₂B₄O₇ (tetraboric acid) HB₄O₇ ⁻/B₄O₇ ⁻² (tetraborates)B₂O₄ ⁻² (diborate) B₆O₁₀ ⁻² (hexaborate) +4.5 B₂O₅ ⁻ (diborate) +5 BO₃⁻/BO₂ ⁻•H₂O (perborate) Thallium (Tl) +1 Tl⁺¹ (thallous) +1 Species/+3or +3.33 Species; +3 Tl⁺³ (thallic) +3 Species/+3.33 Species TlO⁺,TlOH⁺², Tl(OH)₂ ⁺ (thallyl) Tl₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Tl(OH)₃ (hydroxide)+3.33 Tl₃O₅ (peroxide) B See Rare Earths and Actinides IV A Carbon (C)+4 H₂CO₃(carbonic acid) +4 Species/+5, +6 Species HCO₃ ⁻ (bicarbonate)CO₃ ⁻² (carbonate) +5 H₂C₂O₆ (perdicarbonic acid) +6 H₂CO₄(permonocarbonic acid) Germanium (Ge) +4 H₂GeO₃ (germanic acid) +4Species/+6 Species HGeO₃ ⁻ (bigermaniate) GeO₃ ⁻⁴ (germinate) Ge⁺⁴(germanic) GeO₄ ⁻⁴ H₂Ge₂O₅ (digermanic acid) H₂Ge₄O₉ (tetragermanicacid) H₂Ge₅O₁₁ (pentagermanic acid) HGe₅O₁₁ ⁻ (bipentagermanate) +6Ge₅O₁₁ ⁻² (pentagermanate) Tin (Sn) +4 Sn⁺⁴ (stannic) +4 Species/+7Species HSnO₃ ⁻ (bistannate) SnO₃ ⁻² (stannate) SnO₂ (stannic oxide)Sn(OH)₄ (stannic hydroxide) +7 SnO₄ ⁻ (perstannate) Lead (Pb) +2 Pb⁺²(plumbous) +2, +2.67, +3 Species/+4 Species HPbO₂ ⁻ (biplumbite) PbOH⁺PbO₂ ⁻² (plumbite) PbO (plumbus oxide) +2.67 Pb₃O₄ (plumbo-plumbicoxide) +3 Pb₂O₃ (sequioxide) Lead (Pb) +4 Pb⁺⁴ (plumbic) +2, +2.67, +3Species/+4 Species PbO₃ ⁻² (metaplumbate) HPbO₃ ⁻ (acid metaplumbate)PbO₄ ⁻⁴ (orthoplumbate) PbO₂ (dioxide) B Titanium +4 TiO⁺² (pertitanyl)+4 Species/+6 Species HTiO₄ ⁻ titanate) TiO₂ (dioxide) +6 TiO₂ ⁺²(pertitanyl) HTiO₄ ⁻ (acid pertitanate) TiO₄ ⁻² (pertitanate) TiO₃(peroxide) Zirconium (Zr) +4 Zr⁺⁴ (zirconic) +4 Species/+5, +6, +7Species ZrO⁺² (zirconyl) HZrO₃ ⁻ (zirconate) +5 Zr₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6ZrO₃ (peroxide) +7 Zr₂O₇ (heptoxide) Hafnium (Hf) +4 Hf⁺⁴ (hafnic) +4Species/+6 Species HfO⁺² (hafnyl) +6 HfO₃ (peroxide) V A Nitrogen +5HNO₃ (nitric acid) +5 species/+7 Species NO₃ ⁻ (nitrate) +7 HNO₄(pernitric acid) Phosphorus (P) +5 H₃PO₄ (orthophosphoric acid) +5Species/+6, +7 species H₂PO₄ ⁻ (monoorthophosphate) HPO₄ ⁻²(diorthophosphate) PO₄ ⁻³ (triorthophosphate) HPO₃ (metaphosphoric acid)H₄P₂O₇ (pryophosphoric acid) H₅P₃O₁₀ (triphosphoric acid) H₆P₄O₁₃(tetraphosphoric acid) +6 H₄P₂O₈ (perphosphoric acid) +5 Species/+6, +7Species +7 H₃PO₅ (monoperphosphoric acid) Arsenic (As) +5 H₃AsO₄(ortho-arsenic acid) +5 Species/+7 species H₂AsO₄ ⁻ (monoortho-arsenate) HAsO₄ ⁻² (di-ortho-arsenate) AsO₄ ⁻³(tri-ortho-arsenate) AsO₂ ⁺ (arsenyl) +7 AsO₃ ⁺ (perarsenyl) Bismuth(Bi) +3 Bi⁺³ (bismuthous) +3 Species/+3.5, +4, +5 Species BiOH⁺²(hydroxybismuthous) BiO⁺ (bismuthyl) BiO₂ ⁻ (metabismuthite) +3.5 Bi₄O₇(oxide) +4 Bi₂O₄ (tetroxide) +5 BiO₃ ⁻ (metabismuthite) Bi₂O₅(pentoxide) B Vanadium (V) +5 VO₂ ⁺ (vanadic) +5 Species/+7, +9 Species(See also POM H₃V₂O₇ ⁻ (pyrovanadate) Complex Anion H₂VO₄ ⁻(orthovanadate) Mediators) VO₃ ⁻ (metavanadate) HVO₄ ⁻² (orthovanadate)VO₄ ⁻³ (orthovanadate) V₂O₅ (pentoxide) H₄V₂O₇ (pyrovanadic acid) HVO₃(metavanadic acid) H₄V₆O₁₇ (hexavanadic acid) +7 VO₄ ⁻ (pervanadate) +9VO₅ ⁻ (hypervanadate) Nioblum +5 NbO₃ ⁻ (metaniobate) +5 Species/+7species (Nb) NbO₄ ⁻³ (orthoniobate) (See also POM Nb₂O₅ (pentoxide)Complex Anion HNbO₄ (niobid acid) Mediators) +7 NbO₄ ⁻ (perniobate)Nb₂O₇ (perniobic oxide) HNbO₄ (perniobic acid) Tantalum +5 TaO₃ ⁻(metaate) +5 species/+7 species (Ta) TaO₄ ⁻³ (orthotantalate) (See alsoPOM Ta₂O₅ (pentoxide) Complex Anion HTaO₄ (tantalic acid) Mediators) +7TaO₄ ⁻ (pentantalate) Ta₂O₇ (pertantalate) HTaO₄•H₂O (pertantalic acid)VI A Sulfur (S) +6 H₂SO₄ (sulfuric acid) +6 Species/+7, +8 Species HSO₄⁻ (bisulfate) SO₄ ⁻² (sulfate) +7 S₂O₈ ⁻² (dipersulfate) +8 H₂SO₅(monopersulfuric acid) Selenium (Se) +6 H₂Se₂O₄ (selenic acid) +6species/+7 Species HSeO₄ ⁻ (biselenate) SeO₄ ⁻² (selenate) +7 H₂Se₂O₈(perdiselenic acid) Tellurium (Te) +6 H₂TeO₄ (telluric acid) +6 species/+7 species HTeO₄ ⁻ (bitellurate) TeO₄ ⁻² (tellurate) Polonium (Po) +2Po⁺² (polonous) +2, +4 species/+6 Species +4 PoO₃ ⁻² (polonate) +6 PoO₃(peroxide) B Chromium +3 Cr⁺³ (chromic) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species;CrOH⁺², Cr(OH)₂ ⁺ (chromyls) +4 Species/+6 Species CrO₂ ⁻, CrO₃ ⁻³(chromites) Cr₂O₃ (chromic oxide) Cr(OH)₃ (chromic hydroxide) +4 CrO₂(dioxide) Cr(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 H₂CrO₄ (chromic acid) HCrO₄ ⁻ (acidchromate) CrO₄ ⁻² (chromate) Cr₂O₇ ⁻² (dichromate) Molybdenum (Mo) +6HMoO₄ ⁻ (bimolybhate) +6 Species/+7 Species (See also POM MoO₄ ⁻²(molydbate) Complex Anion MoO₃ (molybdic trioxide) Mediators) H₂MoO₄(molybolic acid) +7 MoO₄ ⁻ (permolybdate) Tungsten (W) +6 WO₄ ⁻²tungstic) +6 Species/+8 Species (See also POM WO₃ (trioxide) ComplexAnion H₂WO₄ (tungstic acid) Mediators) +8 WO₅ ⁻² (pertungstic) H₂WO₅(pertungstic acid) VII A Chlorine (Cl) +1 HClO (hypochlorous acid) +1Species/+3, +5, +7 Species; ClO⁻ (hypochlorite) +3 Species/+5, +7Species; +3 HClO₂ (chlorous acid) +5 Species/+7 Species ClO₂ ⁻(chlorite) +5 HClO₃ (chloric acid) ClO₃ ⁻ (chlorate) +7 HClO₄(perchloric acid) ClO₄ ⁻, HClO₅ ⁻², ClO₅ ⁻³, Cl₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (perchlorates)Bromine (Br) +1 HBrO (hypobromous acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7 Species;BrO⁻ (hypobromitee) +3 Species/+5, +7 Species; +3 HBrO₂ (bromous acid)+5 Species/+7 Species BrO2⁻ (bromite) +5 HBrO₃ (bromic acid) BrO₃ ⁻(bromate) +7 HBrO₄ (perbromic acid) BrO₄ ⁻, HBrO₅ ⁻², BrO₅ ⁻³, Br₂O₉ ⁻⁴(prebromates) Iodine +1 HIO (hypoiodus acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7Species; IO⁻ (hypoiodite) +3 Species/+5, +7 Species; +3 HIO₂ (iodousacid) +5 Species/+7 Species IO₂ ⁻ (iodite) +5 HIO₃ (iodic acid) IO₃ ⁻(iodate) +7 HIO₄ (periodic acid) IO₄ ⁻, HIO₅ ⁻², IO₅ ⁻³, I₂O₉ ⁻⁴(periodates) B Manganese (Mn) +2 Mn⁺² (manganeous) +2 Species/+3, +4,+6, +7 Species; HMnO₂ ⁻ (dimanganite) +3 Species/+4, +6, +7 Species; +3Mn⁺³ (manganic) +4 Species/+6, +7 Species; +4 MnO₂ (dioxide) +6Species/+7 Species +6 MnO₄ ⁻² (manganate) +7 MnO₄ ⁻ (permanganate) VIIIPeriod 4 Iron (Fe) +3 Fe⁺³ (ferric) +3 Species/+4, +5, +6 Species;FeOH⁺² +4 Species/+5, +6 Species; Fe(OH)₂ ⁺ +5 Species/+6 Species FeO₂ ⁻(ferrite) +4 FeO⁺² (ferryl) FeO₂ ⁻² (perferrite) +5 FeO₂ ⁺ (perferryl)+6 FeO₄ ⁻² (ferrate) Cobalt (Co) +2 Co⁺² (cobalous) +2 Species/+3, +4Species; HCoO₂ ⁻ (dicobaltite) +3 Species/+4 Species +3 Co⁺³ (cobaltic)Co₂O₃ (cobaltic oxide) +4 CoO₂ (peroxide) H₂CoO₃ (cobaltic acid) Nickel(Ni) +2 Ni⁺² (nickelous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6 Species; NiOH⁺ +3Species/+4, +6 Species; HNiO₂ ⁻ (dinickelite) +4 Species/+6 Species NiO₂⁻² (nickelite) +3 Ni⁺³ (nickelic) Ni₂O₃ (nickelic oxide) +4 NiO₂(peroxide) +6 NiO₄ ⁻² (nickelate) Period 5 Ruthenium (Ru) +2 Ru⁺² +2Species/+3, +4, +5, +6, +7, +8 Species; +3 Ru⁺³ +3 Species/+4, +5, +6,+7, +8 Species; Ru₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 Species/+5, +6, +7, +8 Species;Ru(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +5 Species/+6, +7, +8 Species; +4 Ru⁺⁴ (ruthenic) +6Species/+7, +8 Species; RuO₂ (ruthenic dioxide) +7 Species/+8 SpeciesRu(OH)₄ (ruthenic hydroxide) +5 Ru₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 RuO₄ ⁻² (ruthenate)RuO₂ ⁺² (ruthenyl) RuO₃ (trioxide) +7 RuO₄ ⁻ (perruthenate) +8 H₂RuO₄(hyperuthenic acid) HRuO₅ ⁻ (diperruthenate) RuO₄ (ruthenium tetroxide)Rhodium (Rh) +1 Rh⁺ (hyporhodous) +1 Species/+2, +3, +4, +6 Species; +2Rh⁺² (rhodous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6 Species; +3 Rh⁺³ (rhodic) +3Species/+4, +6 Species; Rh₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species +4RhO₂ (rhodic oxide) Rh(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 RhO₄ ⁻² (rhodate) RhO₃(trioxide) Palladium +2 Pd⁺² (palladous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6 Species;PdO₂ ⁻² (palladite) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species; +3 Pd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4Species/+6 Species +4 PdO₃ ⁻² (palladate) PdO₂ (dioxide) Pd(OH)₄(hydroxide) +6 PdO₃ (peroxide) Period 6 Iridium (Ir) +3 Ir⁺³ (iridic) +3Species/+4, +6 Species; Ir₂O₃ (iridium sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6Species Ir(OH)₃ (iridium hydroxide) +4 IrO₂ (iridic oxide) Ir(OH)₄(iridic hydroxide) +6 IrO₄ ⁻² (iridate) IrO₃ (iridium peroxide) Platinum(Pt) +2 Pt⁺² (platinous) +2, +3 Species/+4, +6 Species; +3 Pt₂O₃(sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species +4 PtO₃ ⁻² (palatinate) PtO⁺²(platinyl) Pt(OH)⁺³ PtO₂ (platonic oxide) +6 PtO₄ ⁻² (Perplatinate) PtO₃(perplatinic oxide) IIIB Rare earths Cerium (Ce) +3 Ce⁺³ (cerous) +3Species/+4, +6 Species; Ce₂O₃ (cerous oxide) +4 Species/+6 SpeciesCe(OH)₃ (cerous hydroxide) +4 Ce⁺⁴, Ce(OH)⁺³, Ce(OH)₂ ⁺², Ce(OH)₃ ⁺(ceric) CeO₂ (ceric oxide) +6 CeO₃ (peroxide) Praseodymium (Pr) +3 Pr⁺³(praseodymous) +3 species/+4 species Pr₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Pr(OH)₃(hydroxide) +4 Pr⁺⁴ (praseodymic) PrO₂ (dioxide) Neodymium +3 Nd⁺³ +3Species/+4 Species Nd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 NdO₂ (peroxide) Terbium (Tb)+3 Tb⁺³ +3 Species/+4 Species Tb₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 TbO₂ (peroxide)Actinides Thorium (Th) +4 Th⁺⁴ (thoric) +4 Species/+6 Species ThO⁺²(thoryl) HThO₃ ⁻ (thorate) +6 ThO₃ (acid peroxide) Uranium (U) +6 UO₂ ⁺²(uranyl) +6 Species/+8 Species UO₃ (uranic oxide) +8 HUO₅ ⁻, UO₅ ⁻²(peruranates) UO₄ (peroxide) Neptunium (Np) +5 NpO₂ ⁺ (hyponeptunyl) +5Species/+6, +8 Species; Np₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 Species/+8 Species +6 NpO₂⁺² (neptunyl) NpO₃ (trioxide) +8 NpO₄ (peroxide) Plutonium (Pu) +3 Pu⁺³(hypoplutonous) +3 Species/+4, +5, +6 Species; +4 Pu⁺⁴ (plutonous) +4Species/+5, +6 Species; PuO₂ (dioxide) +5 Species/+6 Species +5 PuO₂ ⁺(hypoplutonyl) Pu₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 PuO₂ ⁺² (plutonyl) PuO₃ (peroxide)Americium (Am) +3 Am⁺³ (hypoamericious) +4 Am⁺⁴ (americous) AmO₂(dioxide) Am(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +5 AmO₂ ⁺ (hypoamericyl) Am₂O₅ (pentoxide)+6 AmO₂ ⁺² (americyl) AmO₃ (peroxide)

TABLE II Elements Participating as Heteroatoms in HeteropolyanionComplex Anion Redox Couple Mediators SUB GROUP GROUP ELEMENT I A Lithium(Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), and Cesium (Cs) B Copper (Cu), Silver(Ag), and Gold (Au) II A Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca),Strontium (Sr), and Barium (Ba) B Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), and Mercury(Hg) III A Boron (B), and Aluminum (Al) B Scandium (Sc), and Yttrium(Y) - (See Rare Earths) IV A Carbon (C), Silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge),Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) B Titanium (Ti), Zirconium (Zr), and Hafnium (Hf)V A Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb), andBismuth (Bi) B Vanadium (V), Niobium (Nb), and Tantalum (Ta) VI A Sulfur(S), Selenium (Se), and Tellurium (Te) B Chromium (Cr), Molybdenum (Mo),and Tungsten (W) VII A Fluorine (F), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), andIodine (I) B Manganese (Mn), Technetium (Tc), and Rhenium (Re) VIIIPeriod Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel (Ni) 4 Period Ruthenium (Ru),Rhodium (Rh), and Palladium (Pd) 5 Period Osmium (Os), Iridium (Ir), andPlatinum (Pt) 6 IIIB Rare All Earths.


30. The process of claim 26, further comprising using oxidizer speciesthat are found in situ in the waste to be decomposed, by circulating thewaste-anolyte mixture through the electrochemical cell where in anoxidized form of an in situ reversible redox couple is formed by anodicoxidizing or reacting with an oxidized form of a more powerful redoxcouple added to the anolyte and anodically oxidized in theelectrochemical cell, thereby destroying the biological waste materialswhile producing the hydrogen and oxygen.
 31. The process of claim 26,further comprising using an alkaline electrolyte selected from a groupconsisting of NaOH or KOH and combinations thereof, with the mediatoroxidizing species, wherein a reduced form of a mediator redox couple hassufficient solubility in said electrolyte for allowing desired oxidationof biological and organic waste materials while producing hydrogen andoxygen.
 32. The process of claim 26, wherein the oxidation potential ofredox reactions of the mediator oxidizing species and the biological andorganic waste molecules producing hydrogen ions are inverselyproportional to electrolyte pH, and thus with a selection of a mediatorredox couple increasing the electrolyte pH reduces the electricpotential required, thereby reducing electric power consumed per unitmass of the biological and organic waste destroyed.
 33. The process ofclaim 26, wherein the electrolyte is an aqueous solution chosen fromacids, alkalines and neutral electrolytes and mixtures thereof.
 34. Theprocess of claim 26, wherein the adding energy comprises usingultrasonic energy and inducing microscopic bubble expansion andimplosion for reducing size of waste volumes dispersed in the anolyte.35. The process of claim 26, further comprising interchanging themediator oxidizing species without changing equipment, and wherein theelectrolyte is an acid, neutral or alkaline aqueous solution.
 36. Theprocess of claim 26, further comprising electrically energizing theelectrochemical cell at a potential level sufficient for forming theoxidized forms of redox couples having highest oxidizing potential inthe anolyte, introducing the biological and organic waste into theanolyte portion, forming reduced forms of one or more reversible redoxcouples by contacting with oxidizable molecules, the reaction with whichoxidizes the oxidizable material with the concomitant reduction of theoxidized form of the reversible redox couples to their reduced form, andwherein the adding energy comprises providing an ultrasonic sourceconnected to the anolyte for augmenting secondary oxidation processes bymomentarily heating the hydrogen peroxide in the electrolyte to 4800° C.at 1000 atmospheres thereby dissociating the hydrogen peroxide intohydroxyl free radicals thus increasing the oxidizing processes.
 37. Theprocess of claim 26, further comprising oxidation potentials of redoxreactions producing hydrogen ions are inversely related to pH.
 38. Theprocess of claim 26, wherein the process is performed at a temperaturefrom slightly above 0° C. to slightly below the boiling point of theelectrolyte.
 39. The process of claim 26, wherein the temperature atwhich the process is performed is varied.
 40. The process of claim 26,wherein the oxidizing and destroying biological and organic wastematerials comprises destroying and oxidizing solid waste.
 41. Theprocess of claim 26, wherein the oxidizing and destroying biological andorganic waste materials comprises oxidizing and destroying liquid waste.42. The process of claim 26, wherein the oxidizing and destroyingbiological and organic waste materials comprises oxidizing anddestroying a combination of liquids and solids.
 43. The process of claim26, further comprising requiring removing and treating precipitatesresulting from combinations of the oxidizing species and other speciesreleased from the biological and organic waste during destruction andsterilization.
 44. The process of claim 26, further comprising acatholyte portion of the electrolyte, and wherein the anolyte andcatholyte portions of electrolyte are independent of one another, andcomprise aqueous solutions of acids, alkali or neutral salt.
 45. Theprocess of claim 26, further comprising separating a catholyte portionof the electrolyte from the anolyte portion with a membrane, operatingthe electrochemical cell at a current density greater then 0.5 amp persquare centimeter across the membrane, and near a limit over which thereis the possibility that metallic anions may leak through the membrane insmall quantities, and recovering the metallic anions through a resincolumn, thus allowing a greater rate of destruction of materials in theanolyte portion.
 46. The process of claim 26, wherein the cell forproducing energy is a fuel cell.
 47. Apparatus for the use of themediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process comprising providingbiological and organic waste materials to produce hydrogen ions andoxygen, an electrochemical cell, an aqueous electrolyte disposed in theelectrochemical cell, a hydrogen ion-permeable selective membrane,disposed in the electrochemical cell for separating the cell intoanolyte and catholyte chambers and separating the electrolyte intoaqueous anolyte and catholyte portions, electrodes further comprising ananode and a cathode disposed in the electrochemical cell respectively inthe anolyte and catholyte chambers and in the anolyte and catholyteportions of the electrolyte, a power supply connected to the anode andthe cathode for applying a direct current voltage between the anolyteand the catholyte portions of the electrolyte, and oxidizing of thematerials in the anolyte portion with a mediated electrochemicaloxidation (MEO) process wherein the anolyte portion further comprises amediator in aqueous solution for producing reversible redox couples usedas oxidizing species and the electrolyte is an acid, neutral or alkalineaqueous solution, wherein current is carried by the hydrogen cell ionsfrom anolyte portion to the cathode in the electrochemical cell, whereinhydrogen gas is formed at the cathode and the hydrogen gas is used in afurther device for producing energy.
 48. The apparatus of claim 47,further comprising an anolyte reaction chamber and buffer tank housingthe bulk of the anolyte solution, an input pump to enter liquidbiological and organic waste materials into the anolyte reactionchamber, a spray head and stream head to introduce the anolyte from theelectrochemical cell into the anolyte reaction chamber in such a manneras to promote mixing of the incoming anolyte and the anolyte mixture inthe anolyte reaction chamber, a hinged lib to allow insertion of wasteinto the anolyte portion as liquid, solid of combination of both, alocking latch to secure the lid during operation of the system, asuction pump attached to the buffer tank to pump anolyte from the buffertank to the anolyte reaction chamber, a input pump to pump anolyte fromthe anolyte reaction chamber back to the buffer tank, and an air pump topump off gases from the anolyte reaction chamber back to the buffer tankfor further oxidation.
 49. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprisinga foraminous basket disposed in the anolyte chamber for receiving thesolid biological and organic waste materials.
 50. The apparatus of claim47, further comprising additives disposed in the electrolyte forcontributing to kinetics of the mediated electrochemical processes whilekeeping it from becoming directly involved in the oxidizing of thematerials, and stabilizer compounds disposed in the electrolyte forstabilizing higher oxidation state species of oxidized forms of thereversible redox couples used as the oxidizing species in theelectrolyte TABLE I Simple Anion Redox Couples Mediators SUB GROUP GROUPELEMENT VALENCE SPECIES SPECIFIC REDOX COUPLES I A None B Copper (Cu) +2Cu⁻² (cupric) +2 Species/+3, +4 Species; HCuO₂ (bicuprite) +3 Species/+4Species CuO₂ ⁻² (cuprite) +3 Cu⁺³ CuO₂ ⁻ (cuprate) Cu₂O₃ (sesquioxide)+4 CuO₂ (peroxide) Silver (Ag) +1 Ag⁺ (argentous) +1 Species/+2, +3Species; AgO⁻ (argentite) +2 Species/+3 Species +2 Ag⁻² (argentic) AgO(argentic oxide) +3 AgO⁺ (argentyl) Ag₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Gold (Au) +1 Au⁺(aurous) +1 Species/+3, +4 Species; +3 Au⁺³ (auric) +3 Species/+4Species AuO⁻ (auryl) H₃AuO₃ ⁻ (auric acid) H₂AuO₃ ⁻ (monoauarate) HAuO₃⁻² (diaurate) AuO₃ ⁻³ (triaurate) Au₂O₃ (auric oxide) Au(OH)₃ (aurichydroxide) +4 AuO₂ (peroxide) II A Magnesium (Mg) +2 Mg⁺² (magnesic) +2Species/+4 Species +4 MgO₂ (peroxide) Calcium (Ca) +2 Ca⁺² +2 Species/+4Species +4 CaO₂ (peroxide) Strontium +2 Sr⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4SrO₂ (peroxide) Barium (Ba) +2 Ba⁺² +2 Species/+4 Species +4 BaO₂(peroxide) B Zinc (Zn) +2 Zn⁺² (zincic) +2 Species/+4 Species ZnOH¹(zincyl) HZnO₂ ⁻(bizincate) ZnO₂ ⁻² (zincate) +4 ZnO₂ (peroxide) Mercury(Hg) +2 Hg⁺² (mercuric) +2 Species/+4 Species Hg(OH)₂ (mercurichydroxide) HHgO₂ ⁻ (mercurate) +4 HgO₂ (peroxide) III A Boron +3 H₃BO₃(orthoboric acid) +3 Species/+4.5, +5 Species H₂BO₃ ⁻, HBO₃ ⁻², BO₃ ⁻³(orthoborates) BO₂ ⁻ (metaborate) H₂B₄O₇ (tetraboric acid) HB₄O₇ ⁻/B₄O₇⁻² (tetraborates) B₂O₄ ⁻² (diborate) B₆O₁₀ ⁻² (hexaborate) +4.5 B₂O₅ ⁻(diborate) +5 BO₃ ⁻/BO₂ ⁻•H₂O (perborate) Thallium (Tl) +1 Tl⁺¹(thallous) +1 Species/+3 or +3.33 Species; +3 Tl⁺³ (thallic) +3Species/+3.33 Species TlO⁺, TlOH⁺², Tl(OH)₂ ⁺ (thallyl) Tl₂O₃(sesquioxide) Tl(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +3.33 Tl₃O₅ (peroxide) B See RareEarths and Actinides IV A Carbon (C) +4 H₂CO₃ (carbonic acid) +4Species/+5, +6 Species HCO₃ ⁻ (bicarbonate) CO₃ ⁻² (carbonate) +5 H₂C₂O₆(perdicarbonic acid) +6 H₂CO₄ (permonocarbonic acid) Germanium (Ge) +4H₂GeO₃ (germanic acid) +4 Species/+6 Species HGeO₃ ⁻ (bigermaniate) GeO₃⁻⁴ (germinate) Ge⁺⁴ (germanic) GeO₄ ⁻⁴ H₂Ge₂O₅ (digermanic acid) H₂Ge₄O₉(tetragermanic acid) H₂Ge₅O₁₁ (pentagermanic acid) HGe₅O₁₁ ⁻(bipentagermanate) +6 Ge₅O₁₁ ⁻² (pentagermanate) Tin (Sn) +4 Sn⁺⁴(stannic) +4 Species/+7 Species HSnO₃ ⁻ (bistannate) SnO₃ ⁻² (stannate)SnO₂ (stannic oxide) Sn(OH)₄ (stannic hydroxide) +7 SnO₄ ⁻ (perstannate)Lead (Pb) +2 Pb⁺² (plumbous) +2, +2.67, +3 Species/+4 Species HPbO₂ ⁻(biplumbite) PbOH⁺ PbO₂ ⁻² (plumbite) PbO (plumbus oxide) +2.67 Pb₃O₄(plumbo-plumbic oxide) +3 Pb₂O₃ (sequioxide) Lead (Pb) +4 Pb⁺⁴ (plumbic)+2, +2.67, +3 Species/+4 Species PbO₃ ⁻² (metaplumbate) HPbO₃ ⁻ (acidmetaplumbate) PbO₄ ⁻⁴ (orthoplumbate) PbO₂ (dioxide) B Titanium +4 TiO⁺²(pertitanyl) +4 Species/+6 Species HTiO₄ ⁻ titanate) TiO₂ (dioxide) +6TiO₂ ⁺² (pertitanyl) HTiO₄ ⁻ (acid pertitanate) TiO₄ ⁻² (pertitanate)TiO₃ (peroxide) Zirconium (Zr) +4 Zr⁺⁴ (zirconic) +4 Species/+5, +6, +7Species ZrO⁺² (zirconyl) HZrO₃ ⁻ (zirconate) +5 Zr₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6ZrO₃ (peroxide) +7 Zr₂O₇ (heptoxide) Hafnium (Hf) +4 Hf⁺⁴ (hafnic) +4Species/+6 Species HfO⁺² (hafnyl) +6 HfO₃ (peroxide) V A Nitrogen +5HNO₃ (nitric acid) +5 species/+7 Species NO₃ ⁻ (nitrate) +7 HNO₄(pernitric acid) Phosphorus (P) +5 H₃PO₄(orthophosphoric acid) +5Species/+6, +7 species H₂PO₄ ⁻ (monoorthophosphate) HPO₄ ⁻²(diorthophosphate) PO₄ ⁻³ (triorthophosphate) HPO₃ (metaphosphoric acid)H₄P₂O₇ (pryophosphoric acid) H₅P₃O₁₀ (triphosphoric acid) H₆P₄O₁₃(tetraphosphoric acid) +6 H₄P₂O₈ (perphosphoric acid) +5 Species/+6, +7Species +7 H₃PO₅ (monoperphosphoric acid) Arsenic (As) +5 H₃AsO₄(ortho-arsenic acid) +5 Species/+7 species H₂AsO₄ ⁻ (monoortho-arsenate) HAsO₄ ⁻² (di-ortho-arsenate) AsO₄ ⁻³(tri-ortho-arsenate) AsO₂ ⁺ (arsenyl) +7 AsO₃ ⁺ (perarsenyl) Bismuth(Bi) +3 Bi⁺³ (bismuthous) +3 Species/+3.5, +4, +5 Species BiOH⁺²(hydroxybismuthous) BiO⁺ (bismuthyl) BiO₂ ⁻ (metabismuthite) +3.5 Bi₄O₇(oxide) +4 Bi₂O₄ (tetroxide) +5 BiO₃ ⁻ (metabismuthite) Bi₂O₅(pentoxide) B Vanadium (V) +5 VO₂ ⁺ (vanadic) +5 Species/+7, +9 Species(See also POM H₃V₂O₇ ⁻ (pyrovanadate) Complex Anion H₂VO₄ ⁻(orthovanadate) Mediators) VO₃ ⁻ (metavanadate) HVO₄ ⁻² (orthovanadate)VO₄ ⁻³ (orthovanadate) V₂O₅ (pentoxide) H₄V₂O₇ (pyrovanadic acid) HVO₃(metavanadic acid) H₄V₆O₁₇ (hexavanadic acid) +7 VO₄ ⁻ (pervanadate) +9VO₅ ⁻ (hypervanadate) Niobium (Nb) +5 NbO₃ ⁻ (metaniobate) +5 Species/+7species (See also POM NbO₄ ⁻³ (orthoniobate) Complex Anion Nb₂O₅(pentoxide) Mediators) HNbO₃ (niobid acid) +7 NbO₄ ⁻ (perniobate) Nb₂O₇(perniobic oxide) HNbO₄ (perniobic acid) Tantalum (Ta) +5 TaO₃ ⁻(metatantalate) +5 species/+7 species (See also POM TaO₄ ⁻³(orthotanatalate) Complex Anion Ta₂O₅ (pentoxide) Mediators) HTaO₃(tantalic acid) +7 TaO₄ ⁻ (pentantalate) Ta₂O₇ (pertantalate) HTaO₄•H₂O(pertantalic acid) VI A Sulfur (S) +6 H₂SO₄ (sulfuric acid) +6Species/+7, +8 Species HSO₄ ⁻ (bisulfate) SO₄ ⁻² (sulfate) +7 S₂O₈ ⁻²(dipersulfate) +8 H₂SO₅ (momopersulfuric acid) Selenium (Se) +6 H₂Se₂O₄(selenic acid) +6 species/+7 Species HSeO₄ ⁻ (biselenate) SeO₄ ⁻²(selenate) +7 H₂Se₂O₈ (perdiselenic acid) Tellurium (Te) +6 H₂TeO₄(telluric acid) +6 species/+7 species HTeO₄ ⁻ (bitellurate) TeO₄ ⁻²(tellurate) +7 H₂Te₂O₈ (perditellenic acid) Polonium (Po) +2 Po⁺²(polonous) +2, +4 species/+6 Species +4 PoO₃ ⁻² (polonate) +6 PoO₃(peroxide) B Chromium +3 Cr⁺³ (chromic) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species;CrOH⁺², Cr(OH)₂ ⁺ (chromyls) +4 Species/+6 Species CrO₂ ⁻, CrO₃ ⁻³(chromites) Cr₂O₃ (chromic oxide) Cr(OH)₃ (chromic hydroxide) +4 CrO₂(dioxide) Cr(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 H₂CrO₄ (chromic acid) HCrO₄ ⁻ (acidchromate) CrO₄ ⁻² (chromate) Cr₂O₇ ⁻² (dichromate) Molybdenum (Mo) +6HMoO₄ ⁻ (bimolybhate) +6 Species/+7 Species MoO₄ ⁻² (molydbate) MoO₃(molybdic trioxide) H₂MoO₄ (molybolic acid) +7 MoO₄ ⁻ (permolybdate)Tungsten (W) +6 WO₄ ⁻² tungstic) +6 Species/+8 Species WO₃ (trioxide)H₂WO₄ (tungstic acid) +8 WO₅ ⁻² (pertungstic) H₂WO₅ (pertungstic acid)VII A Chlorine (Cl) +1 HClO (hypochlorous acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7Species; ClO⁻ (hypochlorite) +3 Species/+5, +7 Species; +3 HClO₂(chlorous acid) +5 Species/+7 Species ClO₂ ⁻ (chlorite) +5 HClO₃(chloric acid) ClO₃ ⁻ (chlorate) +7 HClO₄ (perchloric acid) ClO₄ ⁻,HClO₅ ⁻², ClO₅ ⁻³, Cl₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (perchlorates) Bromine (Br) +1 HBrO(hypobromous acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7 Species; BrO⁻ (hypobromitee) +3Species/+5, +7 Species; +3 HBrO₂ (bromous acid) +5 Species/+7 SpeciesBrO2⁻ (bromite) +5 HBrO₃ (bromic acid) BrO₃ ⁻ (bromate) +7 HBrO₄(perbromic acid) BrO₄ ⁻, HBrO₅ ⁻², BrO₅ ⁻³, Br₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (prebromates)Iodine +1 HIO (hypoiodus acid) +1 Species/+3, +5, +7 Species; IO⁻(hypoiodite) +3 Species/+5, +7 Species; +3 HIO₂ (iodous acid) +5Species/+7 Species IO₂ ⁻ (iodite) +5 HIO₃ (iodic acid) IO₃ ⁻ (iodate) +7HIO₄ (periodic acid) IO₄ ⁻, HIO₅ ⁻², IO₅ ⁻³, I₂O₉ ⁻⁴ (periodates) BManganese (Mn) +2 Mn⁺² (manganeous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6, +7 Species;HMnO₂ ⁻ (dimanganite) +3 Species/+4, +6, +7 Species; +3 Mn⁺³ (manganic)+4 Species/+6, +7 Species; +4 MnO₂ (dioxide) +6 Species/+7 Species +6MnO₄ ⁻² (manganate) +7 MnO₄ ⁻ (permanganate) VIII Period 4 Iron (Fe) +3Fe⁺³(ferric) +3 Species/+4, +5, +6 Species; FeOH⁺² +4 Species/+5, +6Species; Fe(OH)₂ ⁺ +5 Species/+6 Species FeO₂ ⁻ (ferrite) +4 FeO⁺²(ferryl) FeO₂ ⁻² (perferrite) +5 FeO₂ ⁺ (perferryl) +6 FeO₄ ⁻² (ferrate)Cobalt (Co) +2 Co⁺² (cobalous) +2 Species/+3, +4 Species; HCoO₂ ⁻(dicobaltite) +3 Species/+4 Species +3 Co⁺³ (cobaltic) Co₂O₃ (cobalticoxide) +4 CoO₂ (peroxide) H₂CoO₃ (cobaltic acid) Nickel (Ni) +2 Ni⁺²(nickelous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6 Species; NiOH⁺ +3 Species/+4, +6Species; HNiO₂ ⁻ (dinickelite) +4 Species/+6 Species NiO₂ ⁻² (nickelite)+3 Ni⁺³ (nickelic) Ni₂O₃ (nickelic oxide) +4 NiO₂ (peroxide) +6 NiO₄ ⁻²(nickelate) Period 5 Ruthenium (Ru) +2 Ru⁺² +2 Species/+3, +4, +5, +6,+7, +8 Species; +3 Ru⁺³ +3 Species/+4, +5, +6, +7, +8 Species; Ru₂O₃(sesquioxide) +4 Species/+5, +6, +7, +8 Species; Ru(OH)₃ (hydroxide) +5Species/+6, +7, +8 Species; +4 Ru⁺⁴ (ruthenic) +6 Species/+7, +8Species; RuO₂ (ruthenic dioxide) +7 Species/+8 Species Ru(OH)₄ (ruthenichydroxide) +5 Ru₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 RuO₄ ⁻² (ruthenate) RuO₂ ⁺²(ruthenyl) RuO₃ (trioxide) +7 RuO₄ ⁻ (perruthenate) +8 H₂RuO₄(hyperuthenic acid) HRuO₅ ⁻ (diperruthenate) RuO₄ (ruthenium tetroxide)Rhodium (Rh) +1 Rh⁺ (hyporhodous) +1 Species/+2, +3, +4, +6 Species; +2Rh⁺² (rhodous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6 Species; +3 Rh⁺³ (rhodic) +3Species/+4, +6 Species; Rh₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species +4RhO₂ (rhodic oxide) Rh(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +6 RhO₄ ⁻² (rhodate) RhO₃(trioxide) Palladium +2 Pd⁺² (palladous) +2 Species/+3, +4, +6 Species;PdO₂ ⁻² (palladite) +3 Species/+4, +6 Species; +3 Pd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4Species/+6 Species +4 PdO₃ ⁻² (palladate) PdO₂ (dioxide) Pd(OH)₄(hydroxide) +6 PdO₃ (peroxide) Period 6 Iridium (Ir) +3 Ir⁺³ (iridic) +3Species/+4, +6 Species; Ir₂O₃ (iridium sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6Species Ir(OH)₃ (iridium hydroxide) +4 IrO₂ (iridic oxide) Ir(OH)₄(iridic hydroxide) +6 IrO₄ ⁻² (iridate) IrO₃ (iridium peroxide) Platinum(Pt) +2 Pt⁺² (platinous) +2, +3 Species/+4, +6 Species; +3 Pt₂O₃(sesquioxide) +4 Species/+6 Species +4 PtO₃ ⁻² (palatinate) PtO⁺²(platinyl) Pt(OH)⁺³ PtO₂ (platonic oxide) +6 PtO₄ ⁻² (Perplatinate) PtO₃(perplatinic oxide) IIIB Rare earths Cerium (Ce) +3 Ce⁺³ (cerous) +3Species/+4, +6 Species; Ce₂O₃ (cerous oxide) +4 Species/+6 SpeciesCe(OH)₃ (cerous hydroxide) +4 Ce⁺⁴, Ce(OH)⁺³, Ce(OH)₂ ⁺², Ce(OH)₃ ⁺(ceric) CeO₂ (ceric oxide) +6 CeO₃ (peroxide) Praseodymium (Pr) +3 Pr⁺³(praseodymous) +3 species/+4 species Pr₂O₃ (sesquioxide) Pr(OH)₃(hydroxide) +4 Pr⁺⁴ (praseodymic) PrO₂ (dioxide) Neodymium +3 Nd⁺³ +3Species/+4 Species Nd₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 NdO₂ (peroxide) Terbium (Tb)+3 Tb⁺³ +3 Species/+4 Species Tb₂O₃ (sesquioxide) +4 TbO₂ (peroxide)Actinides Thorium (Th) +4 Th⁺⁴ (thoric) +4 Species/+6 Species ThO⁺²(thoryl) HThO₃ ⁻ (thorate) +6 ThO₃ (acid peroxide) Uranium (U) +6 UO₂ ⁺²(uranyl) +6 Species/+8 Species UO₃ (uranic oxide) +8 HUO₅ ⁻, UO₅ ⁻²(peruranates) UO₄(peroxide) Neptunium (Np) +5 NpO₂ ⁺ (hyponeptunyl) +5Species/+6, +8 Species; Np₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 Species/+8 Species +6 NpO₂⁺² (neptunyl) NpO₃ (trioxide) +8 NpO₄ (peroxide) Plutonium (Pu) +3 Pu⁺³(hypoplutonous) +3 Species/+4, +5, +6 Species; +4 Pu⁺⁴ (plutonous) +4Species/+5, +6 Species; PuO₂ (dioxide) +5 Species/+6 Species +5 PuO₂ ⁺(hypoplutonyl) Pu₂O₅ (pentoxide) +6 PuO₂ ⁺² (plutonyl) PuO₃ (peroxide)Americium (Am) +3 Am⁺³ (hypoamericious) +4 Am⁺⁴ (americous) AmO₂(dioxide) Am(OH)₄ (hydroxide) +5 AmO₂ ⁺ (hypoamericyl) Am₂O₅ (pentoxide)+6 AmO₂ ⁺² (americyl) AmO₃ (peroxide)

TABLE II Elements Participating as Heteroatoms in HeteropolyanionComplex Anion Redox Couple Mediators SUB GROUP GROUP ELEMENT I A Lithium(Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), and Cesium (Cs) B Copper (Cu), Silver(Ag), and Gold (Au) II A Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca),Strontium (Sr), and Barium (Ba) B Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), and Mercury(Hg) III A Boron (B), and Aluminum (Al) B Scandium (Sc), and Yttrium(Y) - (See Rare Earths) IV A Carbon (C), Silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge),Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) B Titanium (Ti), Zirconium (Zr), and Hafnium (Hf)V A Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb), andBismuth (Bi) B Vanadium (V), Niobium (Nb), and Tantalum (Ta) VI A Sulfur(S), Selenium (Se), and Tellurium (Te) B Chromium (Cr), Molybdenum (Mo),and Tungsten (W) VII A Fluorine (F), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), andIodine (I) B Manganese (Mn), Technetium (Tc), and Rhenium (Re) VIIIPeriod Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel (Ni) 4 Period Ruthenium (Ru),Rhodium (Rh), and Palladium (Pd) 5 Period Osmium (Os), Iridium (Ir), andPlatinum (Pt) 6 IIIB Rare All Earths.


51. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the oxidizer species are simpleanions redox couple mediators described in Table I: Type I isopolyanionsformed by Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, or mixtures there of, Type Iheteropolyanions formed by incorporation into the isopolyanions inheteroatom elements listed in Table II, or any heteropolyanionscontaining at least one heteroatom type element contained in both TableI and Table II or combinations of mediator species from any or all ofthese generic groups.
 52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein theoxidizing species are one or more Type I isopolyanion complex anionredox couple mediators containing tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium,niobium, tantalum, or combinations thereof as addenda atoms in aqueoussolution.
 53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the oxidizing speciesare one or more Type I heteropolyanions formed by incorporation into theisopolyanions, as heteroatoms, of the elements listed in Table II,either singly or in combination thereof.
 54. The apparatus of claim 51,wherein the oxidizing species are one or more heteropolyanionscontaining at least one heteroatom type element contained in Table I andTable II.
 55. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the oxidizing speciesare super oxidizers and further comprising creating secondary oxidizersdisposed in the anolyte portion by reacting with the super oxidizers inthe aqueous anolyte.
 56. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the anolyteportion comprises an alkaline solution for aiding decomposing thematerials, for absorbing CO₂, for forming alkali metalbicarbonate/carbonate for circulating through the electrochemical cell,and for producing a percarbonate oxidizer.
 57. The apparatus of claim47, wherein the anolyte portion further comprises super oxidizersgenerating inorganic free radicals in aqueous solutions derived fromcarbonate, azide, nitrite, nitrate, phosphite, phosphate, sulfite,sulfate, selenite, thiocyanate, chloride, bromide, and iodide species,anions with an oxidation potential above a threshold value of 1.7 voltsat 1 molar, 25° C. and pH1 or a super oxidizer) for involving in asecondary oxidation process for producing oxidizers, and organic freeradicals for aiding the process and breaking down the biological andorganic materials into simpler smaller molecular structure biologicaland organic compounds.
 58. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprisingan ultrasonic energy source within or near the anolyte chamber forproducing microscopic bubbles and implosions for reducing in sizeindividual second phase waste volumes dispersed in the anolyte.
 59. Theapparatus of claim 47, wherein the membrane is made of microporouspolymer, porous ceramic or glass fit.
 60. The apparatus of claim 47,further comprising an AC source for impression of an AC voltage upon theDC voltage to retard the formation of cell performance limiting surfacefilms on the electrodes.
 61. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein each ofthe oxidizing species has normal valence states in reduced forms ofredox couples and higher valence oxidizing states oxidized forms ofredox couples of the oxidizing species created by stripping and reducingelectrons off normal valence state species in the electrochemical cell.62. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the anolyte portions are alkalinesolutions and oxidation potentials of redox reactions producing hydrogenions are inversely related to pH, which reduces the electrical powerrequired to oxidize and destroying the biological and organic waste. 63.The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the oxidizing species attack specificorganic molecules while operating at temperatures sufficiently low so asto preventing the formation of dioxins and furans.
 64. The apparatus ofclaim 47, wherein the power supply energizes the electrochemical cell ata potential level sufficient to form the oxidized form of the redoxcouple having the highest oxidation potential in the anolyte, andfurther comprising a heat exchanger connected to the anolyte chamber forcontrolling temperature between 0° C. and slightly below the boilingtemperature of the anolyte with the heat exchanger before the anolyteenters the electrochemical cell enhancing the generation of oxidizedforms of the anion redox couple mediator, and adjusting the temperatureof the anolyte to the range between 0° C. and slightly below the boilingtemperature when entering the anolyte reaction chamber.
 65. Theapparatus of claim 47, wherein the oxidizing species are higher valencestate of species found in situ for destroying of biological and organicwaste materials.
 66. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the membrane ishydrogen or hydronium ion semi permeable or ion-selective, microporouspolymer, porous ceramic or glass fit membrane for separating the anolyteportion and the catholyte portion while allowing hydrogen or hydroniumion passage from the anolyte to the catholyte.
 67. The apparatus ofclaim 47, wherein oxidation potentials of redox reactions producinghydrogen ions are inversely related to pH, the biological and organicwaste is liquid or solid, or a combination of liquids and solids, andthe oxidizing species are interchangeable without changing otherelements of the apparatus.
 68. The apparatus of claim 47, furthercomprising an ultraviolet source connected to the anolyte chamber fordecomposing hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl free radicals as secondaryoxidizers and increasing efficiency of the process by recovering energythrough the oxidation of the materials in the anolyte chamber by thesecondary oxidizers.
 69. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprisingan ultrasonic source connected to the anolyte for augmenting secondaryoxidation processes by heating hydrogen peroxide containing electrolyteto 48001 C, at 1000 atmospheres for dissociating hydrogen peroxide intohydroxyl free radicals and thus increasing concentration of oxidizingspecies and rate of waste destruction and for irradiating cell membranesin biological materials to momentarily raise the temperature within thecell membranes to above several thousand degrees, causing cell membranefailure, and creating greater exposure of cell contents to oxidizingspecies in the anolyte.
 70. The apparatus of claim 47, furthercomprising use of ultrasonic energy, via the ultrasonic energy sourcecommunicating with the anolyte for inducing microscopic bubbleimplosions to affect a reduction in size of the individual second phasewaste volumes dispersed in the anolyte.
 71. The apparatus of claim 47,further comprising an anolyte reaction chamber holding most of theanolyte portion and a foraminous basket, a penetrator attached to thebasket to puncture solids increasing the exposed area, and furthercomprising an external CO₂ vent connected to the reaction chamber forreleasing CO₂ into the atmosphere, a hinged lid attached to the reactionchamber allowing insertion of waste into the anolyte portion as liquid,solid, or mixtures of liquids and solids, an anolyte pump connected tothe reaction chamber, an inorganic compounds removal and treatmentsystem connected to the anolyte pump for removing chlorides, and otherprecipitate forming anions present in the biological and organic wastebeing processed, thereby precluding formation of unstable oxycompounds.72. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising an off-gas cleaningsystem, comprising scrubber/absorption columns connected to the vent, acondenser connected to the anolyte reaction chamber, wherebynon-condensable incomplete oxidation products, low molecular weightorganics and carbon monoxide are reduced to acceptable levels foratmospheric release by the gas cleaning system, and wherein the anolyteoff-gas is contacted in the gas cleaning system wherein thenoncondensibles from the condenser are introduced into the lower portionof the gas cleaning system through a flow distribution system and asmall side stream of freshly oxidized anolyte direct from theelectrochemical cell is introduced into the upper portion of the column,resulting in a gas phase continuously reacting with the oxidizingmediator species as it rises up the column past the down flowinganolyte, and external drain, for draining to an organic compound removalsystem and the inorganic compounds removal and treatment system, and fordraining the anolyte system, wherein the organic compounds recoverysystem is used to recover biological materials that are benign and donot need further treatment, and biological materials that will be usedin the form they have been reduced.
 73. The apparatus of claim 47,further comprising thermal control units connected to heat or cool theanolyte to a selected temperature range when anolyte is circulated intothe reaction chamber through the electrochemical cell by pump on theanode chamber side of the membrane, a flush for flushing the anolyte,and a filter is located at the base of the reaction chamber to limit thesize of exiting solid particles to approximately 1 mm in diameter. 74.The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the direct current for theelectrochemical cell is provided by a DC power supply, which is poweredby an AC power supply, and wherein the DC power supply is low voltagehigh current supply operating at or below 10V DC and the AC power supplyoperates off an about 110 v AC line for the smaller units and about 240v AC for larger units.
 75. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprisingan electrolyte containment boundary composed of materials resistant tothe oxidizing electrolyte selected from a group consisting of stainlesssteel, PTFE, PTFE lined tubing, glass and ceramics, and combinationsthereof.
 76. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising an anolyterecovery system connected to a catholyte pump, a catholyte reservoirconnected to the cathode portion of the electrochemical cell, a thermalcontrol unit connected to the catholyte reservoir for varying thetemperature of the catholyte portion, a bulk of the catholyte portionbeing resident in a catholyte reservoir, wherein the catholyte portionof the electrolyte flows into a catholyte reservoir, and furthercomprising an air sparge connected to the catholyte reservoir forintroducing air into the catholyte reservoir.
 77. The apparatus of claim47, further comprising an anolyte recovery system for capturing theanions and for reintroducing the anions into the anolyte chamber uponcollection from the catholyte electrolyte, an off-gas cleaning systemconnected to the catholyte reservoir for cleaning gases before releaseinto the atmosphere, and an atmospheric vent connected to the off-gascleaning system for releasing gases into the atmosphere, wherein cleanedgas from the off-gas cleaning system is combined with unreactedcomponents of the air introduced into the system and discharged throughthe atmospheric vent
 47. 78. The apparatus of claim 47, furthercomprising a screwed top on the catholyte reservoir to facilitateflushing out the catholyte reservoir, a mixer connected to the catholytereservoir for stirring the catholyte, a catholyte pump connected to thecatholyte reservoir for circulating catholyte back to theelectrochemical cell, a drain for draining catholyte, a flush forflushing the catholyte system, and an air sparge connected to thehousing for introducing air into the catholyte reservoir, wherein thecatholyte portion of the electrolyte is circulated by pump through theelectrochemical cell on the cathode side of the membrane, and whereincontact of oxidizing gas with the catholyte portion of the electrolyteis enhanced by promoting gas/liquid contact by mechanical and/orultrasonic mixing.
 79. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein theelectrochemical cell is operated at high membrane current densitiesabove about 0.5 amps/cm² for increasing a rate of waste destruction,also results in increased mediator ion transport through the membraneinto the catholyte, and further comprising an anolyte recovery systempositioned on the catholyte side, air sparging on the catholyte side todilute and remove off-gas and hydrogen, wherein some mediator oxidizerions cross the membrane and are removed through the anolyte recoverysystem to maintain process efficiency or cell operability.
 80. Theapparatus of claim 47, further comprising a controller, amicroprocessor, a monitor and a keyboard connected to the cell forinputting commands to the controller through the keyboard responding tothe information displayed on the monitor, a program in the controllersequencing the steps for operation of the apparatus, program havingpre-programmed sequences of operations the operator follows or choosesother sequences of operations, the controller allows the operator toselect sequences within limits that assure a safe and reliableoperation, the controller sends digital commands that regulateelectrical power to pumps, mixers, thermal controls, ultravioletsources, ultrasonic sources, CO₂ vents, air sparge, and theelectrochemical cell, the controller receives component response andstatus from the components, the controller sends digital commands to thesensors to access sensor information through sensor responses, sensorsin the apparatus provide digital information on the state of components,sensors measure flow rate, temperature, pH, CO₂ venting, degree ofoxidation, and air sparging, the controller receives status informationon electrical potential across the electrochemical cell or individualcells in a multi-cell configuration and between the anodes and referenceelectrodes internal to the cells and the current flowing between theelectrodes within each cell.
 81. A biological and organic wastedestruction system which provides hydrogen and oxygen, comprising ahousing constructed of metal or high strength plastic surrounding anelectrochemical cell, with electrolyte separating the electrolyte intoan anolyte portion having an anode and a catholyte portion having acathode with a hydrogen ion-selective membrane, applying a directcurrent voltage between the anolyte portion and the catholyte portion,an AC power supply with a power cord, a DC power supply connected to theAC power supply, the DC power supply providing DC voltage to theelectrochemical cell, a control keyboard for input of commands and data,a monitor screen to display the systems operation and functions, ananolyte reaction chamber with a basket, status lights for displayinginformation about the status of the treatment of the organic wastematerial, a CO₂ vent incorporated into the housing to allow for CO₂release from the anolyte reaction chamber, an atmospheric ventfacilitating the releases of gases into the atmosphere from thecatholyte reservoir, a hinged lid for opening and depositing the organicwaste in the basket in the anolyte reaction chamber, a locking latchconnected to the hinged lid, and in the anolyte reaction chamber anaqueous acid, alkali, or neutral salt electrolyte and mediated oxidizerspecies solution in which an oxidizer form of a mediator redox coupleinitially may be present or may be generated electrochemically afterintroduction of the waste and application of the DC to theelectrochemical cell, hydrogen ions are produced from the destruction ofthe waste, wherein current is carried by hydrogen ions from the anolyteportion to the cathode in the electrochemical cell, wherein hydrogen gasis formed at the cathode and the hydrogen gas is used in a furtherdevice for producing energy.
 82. The system of claim 81, wherein thewaste is introduced when the anolyte is at room temperature, operatingtemperature or intermediate temperature, and the organic waste materialis rapidly oxidized at temperatures below boiling point of anolyte atambient pressure, and further comprising a pump circulating an anolyteportion of an electrolyte, an in-line filter preventing solid particleslarge enough to clog electrochemical cell flow paths from exiting thereaction chamber, an inorganic compound removal and treatment system anddrain outlets connected to the anolyte reaction chamber, whereby residueis pacified in the form of a salt and may be periodically removed, and aremovable top connected to a catholyte reservoir allowing access to thereservoir.
 83. A organic waste oxidizing process, comprising an operatorengaging an ‘ON’ button on a control keyboard, a system controller whichcontains a microprocessor, running a program and controlling a sequenceof operations, a monitor screen displaying process steps in propersequence, status lights on the panel providing status of the process,opening a lid and placing the organic waste in a basket as a liquid,solid, or a mixture of liquids and solids, retaining a solid portion ofthe waste and flowing a liquid portion through the basket and into ananolyte reaction chamber, activating a locking latch after the waste isplaced in the basket, activating pumps which begins circulating theanolyte and a catholyte, once the circulating is established throughoutthe system, operating mixers, once flow is established, turning onthermal control units, and initiating anodic oxidation and electrolyteheating programs, disposing an electrolyte in an electrochemical cell,separating the electrolyte into an anolyte portion having an anode and acatholyte portion having an cathode with a hydrogen ion-selectivemembrane, applying a DC voltage between the anolyte portion and thecatholyte portion, energizing the electrochemical cell to electricpotential and current density determined by the controller program,using programmed electrical power and electrolyte temperature ramps formaintaining a predetermined waste destruction rate profile as arelatively constant reaction rate as more reactive waste components areoxidized, thus resulting in the remaining waste becoming less and lessreactive, thereby requiring more and more vigorous oxidizing conditions,activating ultrasonic and ultraviolet systems in the anolyte reactionchamber and catholyte reservoir, releasing CO₂ from the biological andorganic waste oxidizing process in the anolyte reaction chamber,monitoring progress of the process in the controller by cell voltagesand currents, monitoring CO₂, CO, and O₂ gas composition for CO₂, CO andoxygen content, decomposing the organic waste into water, hydrogen ionsand CO₂, the latter being discharged out of the CO₂ vent, anddischarging excess air out of an atmospheric vent, determining with anoxidation sensor that desired degree of waste destruction has beenobtained, setting the system to standby, and executing system shutdownusing the controller keyboard system operator, wherein current iscarried by the hydrogen ions from the anolyte portion to the cathode inthe electrochemical cell, wherein hydrogen gas is formed at the cathodeand the hydrogen is used in a further device for producing energy. 84.The process of claim 83, further comprising placing the system in astandby mode during the day and adding organic waste as it is generatedthroughout the day, placing the system in full activation duringnon-business hours, operating the system at low temperature and ambientatmospheric pressure and not generating toxic compounds during theoxidation of the biological and organic waste, making the processindoors compatible, scaling the system between units small enough foruse by a single practitioner and units large enough to replace hospitalincinerators, releasing CO₂ oxidation product from the anolyte systemout through the CO₂ vent.
 85. The process of claim 84, furthercomprising introducing the waste into a room temperature or coolersystem with little or none of the mediator redox couple in the oxidizerform, depending upon reaction kinetics, heat of reaction and similarwaste characteristics.